Fixing Broken Paths
by Theluckyturtle
Summary: AU. The Order attacks the Malfoy Manor, seeking to arrest the death eaters that reside there. They find out that maybe Draco issn't who they thought. (In this story Draco also has a younger sister minor! character) Draco-centered. compassionate!Draco NO ROMANCE. CONTAINS: Draco's soft and emotional side, and the four-and-a-half year old Malfoy. FIRST FANFIC
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: This may be the first fanfic I post, depending on the order I post the ones I have written. I am only going into freshman year and I know my writing isn't the greatest, but I try anyway. I don't have a beta either so if I make a mistake somewhere just let me know and I'll go back and fix it. Constructive criticism is welcomed

I'd also like to not this is AU and it starts near the order of the phoenix and Sirius is also alive. Do note that Draco already has the dark mark though.

I am absolutely horrible at writing battle scenes, so instead of taking forever to update and ending up with a still horrible battle scene, I am going to skip it and save you the torture of having to read it.

I also simply forgot the names of all the death eaters, seeing as I haven't read the books in a while (They are really freaking long). So anyway… On with the story! And please note that any reviews are greatly appreciated!

Chapter One

The members of the Order stood about 30 yards outside of the Malfoy manor, just beyond the wards that alert inhabitants to intruders.

"Alright, let's go through this again," Molly Weasley said, looking at the twins, who spent the entirety of the lecture elbowing each other in the ribs as opposed to listening. "We are to go in and apprehend as many of the death eaters as possible. It is rumored that Voldemort is taking up residence here, but I have no doubt he will flee the scene while he makes his death eaters do the dirty work. And remember, stun only. There is no need to be killing everyone, and the last thing we need is to have the Ministry coming after us for using an Unforgivable Curse."

The group nodded their heads, Fred and George mumbling an '_alright mum'_ when she pointedly looked at them.

The group crept forwards, stopping at the line where the protection wards on the manor would have started. The four Weasleys, consisting of Molly, Arthur, Fred, and George were in a clump near the front. The remaining members of the infiltration group, which consisted of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Nyphadora Tonks, and Mad-Eye Moody, followed them from behind.

Mad-Eye made his way up to the front of the group when they stopped. He held out his wand in the direction of the manor and its barriers. The rest of the group heard him mumble something incoherent under his raspy breath but they chose to ignore it.

Mad-Eye threw his head back, and then nodded forward in the universal gesture that meant _Proceed_. He sank into his place at the back of the group while the Weasleys reclaimed their place in the front.

They passed through the wards undetected and with ease. The only way that they could tell they had passed through at all was by the way their breath caught in their chests and their hair stood on end.

The group reshifted their position, again, into the shape of a single-file line. Sirius Black had ended up at the front, seeing as he was the only one of the group that was at all familiar with the house and surrounding property.

When they reached the stone corner of the house Sirius stopped, hiding behind the large pillar that designated the corner of the house. The line wrapped around behind him, forming to the curvature of the building.

Sirius made several gestures with his hands, which were roughly interpreted into _split up and go to different entrances._ Each member of the order took another look around the manor.

They continued making silent hand gestures and assigned entrances to various individuals.

While all of this was going on, the occupants of the house remained blissfully unaware.

Voldemort sat at the head of a long, neatly polished cherry dining table. It was so large that no family could need so many spaces, not even the Weasleys. At the head of the table sat the ominous Dark Lord.

His cruel eyes scanned the crowd of death eaters sitting at the table. As his eyes landed on each death eater they froze, in fear of being killed for any small misstep.

He continued to scan the room until his eyes landed on the one he was looking for…

young Draco Malfoy.

"Draco, my dear boy," the Dark Lord said in a quiet tone. Not that he needed to be loud, seeing as the room as dead silent and none of its occupants would dare interrupt him.

Draco's eyes lifted from the spot they had been boring into the table. His eyes never met the Dark Lords though.

Nagini hissed and slid down Voldemort's pale arm. She made her way down the table, hissing and scaring nearly everything she passed, which scared more than a few of the table's occupants.

"I have a new mission for you, and it will greatly serve to prove not only your strength, but your loyalty and devotion."

Draco looked up, shocked, because he knew that whatever mission this one was, it was either going to be nearly impossible, immoral, as nearly all death eater missions are, or just plain dangerous.

The Dark Lord recognized the small look of defiance in Draco's eyes, and he interrupted before the boy could utter a word.

"And do not even think of turning me down. You are a death eater, your mark is proof enough of that, and as such you shall follow my command. If you choose to…evade then you know who shall pay the price in your stead. We wouldn't want that now would we?"

The blond boy's eyes took on a new, even more defeated look.

"Yes, my Lord," he said in as monotone a voice as he could muster. He failed, however, in hiding his distraught emotions.

"Worry not, dear boy, she is safe as long as you follow orders."

Draco gave a slight nod and bowed his head in defeat. He had never been given many choices in his life, and it looked like fate wasn't about to start now. He knew he couldn't back down though, he couldn't leave her so defenseless.

Turmoil continued to rage and torment his already injured heart as the meeting continued. No one seemed to notice though, not that that wasn't anything new.

The meeting was about to be called to a close when a loud bang was heard from the front entryway.

Everyone stood at once, the Dark Lord issuing orders to kill the intruders and that he would be back when the battle was over, that he could not afford to be found yet.

The death eaters put up no fight to the orders, and they all ran toward the entryway.

Narcissa Malfoy was one of last out of the room, and before she exited she threw a glance at her only son, her gaze filled with a spectrum of emotions ranging from pity to fear to worry.

Draco, while last, followed the rest of the group out of the room. As he stepped into the entryway, he was almost hit by a flying curse. That moment was when he knew, they were in for one hell of a fight.

The scene was not a pretty one. The death eaters had lost fairly quickly. They had fallen for the trap and when they were all in the entryway the order members had attacked them from the various directions of their entrances.

After they realized that they weren't going to win, many of the death eaters had fled out of cowardice. Only a few now remained in the room.

Those left included one Draco Malfoy, who had been tied and was now sitting in the middle of the room with the other three captured death eaters.

Several bodies of the dead lay around the room, all of them death eaters who had been hit with a killing curse cast by other death eaters. Among these dead lay Lucius Malfoy.

Draco was sad, of course. The man was his father after all. But his heart ached less than he would have thought, though that may have something to do with the knowledge that Lucius had never, even slightly, loved his son.

"Search the house," called Lupin over his shoulder, "There could be more hiding. Bring any you find back here and we'll deal with them."

The members of the order set out, excluding Sirius, who had been hit with the cruciatus (sp?) curse and was still too weak to stand; George, who now had the ears of an elephant; and Molly Weasley, who made it her self-appointed job to look after all of the injured people in sight.

Draco's heart gave a lurch at Lupin's words. There was no way they wouldn't find her.

He didn't speak out, thinking that there could be some chance that she could get away without them knowing who she was. But then again, she could have been Draco's clone she looked so much like a Malfoy.

Draco sat there for many long minutes, fighting the tears in his eyes at the thought of her in pain. He tried to distract himself by returning the glares the Weasley twins had sent his way.

Minutes later, though it seemed like torturous hours to Draco, faint footsteps were heard coming down the hall. They were accompanied by a quiet sniffle that only Draco, so far, had noticed.

They had found her.

This was about to become really complicated. He only hoped that whoever had found her hadn't been heartless enough to hurt her.

The person that came through the doorway, though, surprised him. It was Lupin.

He had a small, shaking form cradled to his chest. As he took slow, deliberate steps he whispered sweet nothings in her ear in attempt to calm her.

Lupin wasn't surprised by the actions of the room's inhabitants. Well, he wasn't surprised by anyone but Draco.

Draco's eyes were shining with unshed tears and he looked desperate, almost as if he was hurt. His eyes never left the form in Lupin's hands.

While it shouldn't have surprised him, it actually did. The look in Draco's eyes and on his face showed one of care, love, and concernedness. So a Malfoy was capable of love.

Lupin's eyes left Draco and he continued to look at the rest of the order, who were all wearing similar looks of shock and surprise.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey! So I have 6 and a half-ish chapters of this story done so far, but I won't post them all at once. Gotta have a little suspense right? But anyway, I want to thank brit1999 since she was my first follower and favorite. I would also like to thank jennii.b for the wonderful review! I really appreciate the feedback and constructive criticism. So in honor of the swarm of butterflies I felt after reading that review, I decided to post this chapter. Thanks for all your support everyone!

**Chapter 2**

Lupin stopped when he reached the area most of the group was gathered in. The look of shock had not worn off from any of the faces, and Draco's look of pleading had only intensified.

Arthur Weasley stepped away from Molly's side and ventured toward the werewolf and the precious package he was holding.

When he was within arms length, he reached up to pull the hood from the child's head, so that they might see its identity.

As his hand crept closer the child's cries increased to full-out sobbing and his heart was broken in two at the thought that the child was afraid to even be touched.

When Arthur's hand finally reached the hood it grabbed the front hem and slowly pulled it down. A gasp of shock left his lips as he saw the bright, platinum blonde hair that looked so similar to a Malfoy's.

No, it wasn't possible. It just wasn't.

Through all of this, the child never drew its face from Lupin's shoulder.

It was at this point that Molly's mother-hen personality took over. She strode confidently over to Lupin and plucked the child from his arms before he even had a chance to protest.

She sat the child on her hip, and looked down to get a glimpse of the child's face, and was shocked at what she saw.

The child, a little girl, looked almost like a doll. She was very small and slim, with warm gray eyes. Her face was on the rounder side due to her youth and her hair was a very pale blonde, like Draco's, and it reached down to her mid-back.

Molly was able to school her features before anyone saw her moment of shock. She turned toward where the rest of the order was gathered, so as to allow them a glance at the mystery child. There was no doubt that she was a Malfoy, and at least that explained the look on Draco's face throughout the whole ordeal.

As she turned she was met with not only the shocked gasps of the order, but the child's ear-splitting shriek.

Confusion wracked her brain until her eyes fell upon the corpse of one Lucius Malfoy. Of course! It was likely that the man was the girl's father! It certainly explained the scream at least.

She quickly covered the child's eyes and motioned for one of the members to cover Lucius's body with a cloak.

Once this was done she took her hand from the child's eyes, and walked to a chair that was positioned in the crook at the end of the main staircase. She sat the child, who was now only softly crying, on her lap. As a mother, she had missed her children sitting on her lap like the child she held now did. Mrs. Weasley's kind eyes looked into the child's frightened ones and as she asked,

"Can you tell me your name sweetie?"

The child responded, but not in the way they expected. It was in a foreign language that sounded vaguely like Italian. They could have understood if she had merely said her name, but she responded in what had to be more than one sentence, making it impossible to distinguish anything but the name Malfoy. Great. None of the order members spoke Italian. How were they supposed to communicate now?

That was when a thought struck her. Her eyes traveled the room until they landed on Draco, who's panic was growing by the minute and from the look on his face Molly swore he was going to start hyperventilating any moment now.

"Draco, can you understand her? She's speaking Italian, correct?" Mrs. Weasley gently questioned. Draco responded with a small nod of his head.

"Does she speak English?"

Draco replied, his words barely above a whisper, "yes."

"Could you repeat my question to her, please?" She said, deciding that despite the situation it was still better to use formalities. She assumed that the child simply responded in whichever language was most naturally to her, which in this case it appeared to be Italian, and Mrs. Weasley wasn't going to correct her while she was in that emotional of a state.

A nod. Smooth Italian then rolled off Draco's tongue, and it surprised the occupants of the room that he could speak in such a caring and graceful tone.

The child seemed to perk at the sound of Draco's voice, and she craned her neck to be able to see him. It broke his heart to know that she was so close, yet so far out of his reach.

The child took in Draco's words, and a look of recognition settled across her face. It took a moment for her to gain the courage to tear her eyes from Draco, but when she did she turned right back to Mrs. Weasley.

"Cosette Malfoy." (Note, I do like Les Mis ) Her voice came out soft and sweet. It was so innocent and pure.

Mrs. Weasley couldn't help but smile at the child. She wanted to ask more questions, but didn't want to have to use Draco as an interpreter.

She pulled out her wand and cast a charm on the child so that she would be able to understand them, and speak in a language that could easily be understood. ( I can't remember the name of this charm)

The child flinched violently when a wand came into sight, and Molly put that into the back of her mind.

"Dearie," Mrs. Weasley started, "can you tell me what you are doing here?"

"My house. What happen to daddy and Draco?"

"Well," Mrs. Weasley started. She couldn't continue though. She just couldn't bring herself to tell the girl that her father was dead and that her brother was now captured and would probably end up in Askaban in the long run.

For now she just smiled at the child and said, "It's nothing for you to worry your pretty little mind over dear. Now tell me, how old are you?"

In response Cosette held up four fingers on her left hand, and on her other hand she held up a pointer finger, which was bent to resemble what was most likely a half.

"I's four an' a half. I want brother!" Cosette said, her lisp coming through when she spoke in sentences longer than two words.

What possessed her to do it, Mrs. Weasley will never know, but she set the child on the floor.

As soon as her legs hit the floor, Cosette was off in the direction of Draco. Mind you, she didn't get anywhere fast, seeing as her legs were as short as Molly's forearms were long.

The sight she witnessed, however, was even more adorable than the child's fail walk. As soon as the child got close enough, she flung her arms around Draco and broke into a whole new fit of sobs. Draco simply sat there and whispered reassurances into her ear with a practiced ease that showed that he had done so many times before.

With a bit of wiggling he was able to pull his hands out of the poorly tied ropes, courtesy of a Weasley twin.

This caused the adults to panic and raise their wands, expecting an attack, but what happened was simply another event that they were going to add onto today's list of strange occurrences.

It broke the hearts of most of the occupants in the room to watch Draco wrap his now free arms around the toddler and pull her into his chest. He held her tight and tried to comfort her as she rambled on incoherently in Italian.

The entire time Draco simply held her and rocked her back and forth, saying what they could only assume meant, 'It's going to be alright.'

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes:** Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to put this up! I started one of my freshman courses this summer (so I don't have to take it during the year) but it takes up half of the day every day. So balance that on other activities and it's been a long week.

I'm sorry this one is so short! I would go back and rearrange the chapter but it's a little late now seeing as I'm working on chapter 7. I am working on making each chapter longer (2-3 thousand words at least) but that starts at chapter 6.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter and I'll post again in the next few days!

**DISCLAIMER: **I ONLY OWN THE PLOT AND MY OC. J. K. ROWLING OWNS THE REST. I ALSO DON'T WANT TO REPEAT THIS EVERY CHAPTER SO THIS GOES FOR THE WHOLE STORY.

**Chapter Three**

The twins, Fred and George, looked at each other in shock. They had never seen Malfoy this way. At school he was a bully; he never thought twice about hurting another person. But now, they were seeing a side of him they never knew existed, and that scared them.

They had now idea a Malfoy could love, or even be compassionate in the slightest. But it was undeniable; anyone could see that love and trust that the two shared.

The rest of the occupants in the room were stock silent as well. They had all spoken with, or at least met, Lucius Malfoy at one time or another. The love in Draco's eyes was something that they all knew Lucius would never approve of. And for it to be shown in their sight, it must have been very genuine and strong.

Molly Weasley didn't have the heart to pull the two apart. She knew that they would need to leave before a backup squad of death eaters arrived. It was a hard decision, but one that had to be made.

She was spared the heartbreak, though, when Lupin stepped forward to pull the two apart. He gently set a hand on Draco's shoulder, and he lifted his face from where it had rested on the top of his sister's head.

His eyes met Lupin's, and the werewolf was shocked to see that the young Malfoy heir had been crying. Right away he knew something else was going on. He could see it in Draco's eyes. It was a longing, like he just wanted someone to talk to but he knew no one would listen. This day was beginning to be too much for all of them.

"It's time to go. Backup will be coming, and we can't be here when they arrive," Lupin said in a quiet voice. His eyes then traveled to the girl, Cosette, whose sobs had now trickled into the occasional sniffle or whimper.

Lupin backed up, so as to give the two room to stand. Draco slowly rose from the floor, Cosette still in his arms. He turned to face the group. Fred and George were still sitting on the floor, Sirius was leaning heavily on Mr. Weasley, and Tonks and Mad-Eye were moving the bodies of the fallen around to various places in the room.

Arthur Weasley stepped forward, leaving Sirius leaning on a nearby wall, and grabbed onto one of the death eaters. He pulled out his wand and promptly disaparrated. Malfoy assumed that he was taking them to the Ministry to be charged. Which left the question, why were the two Malfoys still here?

No one, besides Mrs. Weasley and Lupin, had said anything since Cosette had been found. He supposed they were still in shock that there was another Malfoy; it could have been the fact that they didn't know Draco was capable of being kind and loving. Or maybe it was a combination of both.

"Well," Mrs. Weasley said in her mothering voice, "I suppose we must be heading back."

Were they going to leave him here?

Fred stood, and then leaned down to grab George's hands to pull him up as well. Lupin wrapped Sirius arm over his shoulders, seeing as the man was still limping from the crucio he had received from Lucius Malfoy. The other remaining member headed towards the door, leaving Draco with no clue as to whether he was expected to stay there or to follow the group.

The decision was made for him when Arthur Weasley, who had apparated behind him, placed a hand on his shoulder and steered him toward the door. He made no protest, seeing as one of them had his wand and he was carrying a child in his hands, therefore rendering them useless.

Once outside the manor he noticed that most of the group was gone, already having disapparated. He followed the guidance of Mr. Weasley's hand through the rough iron gates of the manor and toward the trees. He really had no idea where they were going until he saw that they had stowed a flying car behind one of the larger oaks.

How no one from the manor spotted that coming he would never know.

Already in the back seat of the car were the twins, who were laughing and shoving each other in an apparent game of rocking the car. When they caught sight of the trio they immediately tensed and ceased all manor of games. They sat there like petrified statues.

Mr. Weasley made a motion with his hands that told Draco that he expected him to get in the car.

Opening the bright blue car's door was challenging enough, considering the burden, though he refused to see it that way, in his arms. He opted not to wear the seatbelt as a result.

The car ride passed very quickly, but not because it was fun. Oh, it wasn't fun for any of the party. The car was eerily silent and no one made so much as a sound. Well, aside from Cosette, who made an occasional whimper, which earned sympathetic looks from the car's other occupants.

Soon enough they reached their destination… 12 Grimmauld Place.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author Notes:** though I am a Dramione fan, that isn't going to take place in this. So I suppose if you squint you can find some towards the later half of the chapter, but it really wasn't intended. Due note that there probably won't be any romance in this story, just lots of sweet and caring Draco and his baby sister.

I posted another chapter today since I felt bad that it had been a week already! Sorry about that guys!

**Chapter 4**

Draco had been here before. He recognized the cold brick front of the house. If it was anything like it was the last time he visited, he definitely didn't want to go inside again.

He, however, didn't have a choice in the matter.

Mr. Weasley's hand returned to its spot on his shoulder, once again giving him no choice but to be guided like a lost dog.

As their step grew closer to the house Draco began to shake with fear. Though it remained small, like a mouse, he knew Mr. Weasley could still feel it because the hand on his shoulder gave him a quick, and what he supposed was comforting, squeeze. They reached the door and Draco's heart was thumping in his chest. The twins came around the trio and waltzed right through the door as if they had no care in the world.

'_Maybe the place has changed?'_ Draco thought, _'If it was the same they wouldn't just walk in like that. It's different and it'll be okay. Calm down Draco. You can't freak out. You have to be there and be strong! For her…'_

He stepped through the door and was greeted with one thing he surely didn't miss, Mrs. Black. As he stepped in she screamed,

"Mudbloods, blood traitors, werewolves, all you scum should-" she stopped screaming.

She had seen the two Malfoys walk in. Cosette was awake now, seeing as it was hard to sleep while being in the same room as a screeching banshee. Her shaking from earlier resumed as her fear reclaimed its tight grip on her heart.

"Well hello dearies! Looks like that no good son of mine finally did something right. Malfoys, good family, nice and pure blood-" The painting was cut off as a sheet was levitated onto the painting so that it covered it completely.

Draco looked to see who had cast the spell and saw Molly Weasley standing in the doorway to the kitchen, already having dawned her apron once more.

"Well, finally that blasted painting has stopped screeching. Now come in dears, no need to stand in the doorway. Much too drafty in that room," She continued talking as she walked back into the kitchen.

The twins ran in after her, and Draco could hear the thud the chairs made when they jumped in them at a full run. Mr. Weasley's hand left his shoulder, and he walked around Draco toward the kitchen.

He stopped in the doorway, motioning for him to follow.

Draco nodded and the man soon disappeared. A pale, miniature hand reached up and tugged on the collar of his shirt. He glanced down into his sister's warm gray eyes and whispered,

"Where are we?"

Draco replied in the same hushed manor, "We're in Sirius Black's house. He's mother's cousin. Don't worry, you'll be safe. I'll protect you, I promise."

She gave him a half-hearted smile and reached up to lay her palm against his cheek, giving him the reassurance he needed to put one foot in front of the other. She put her hand back under her head, which was resting on his chest. Draco took his eyes off her as he marched toward the kitchen.

The sight he saw wasn't what he expected. He supposed it would be somewhat like what the death eater meetings were like. He thought he would see Dumbledore sitting at the head of the kitchen table, with the other order members lined up on either side of the table. But what he saw was the opposite. Molly Weasley was bustling about the kitchen, switching between cooking supper and ironing the laundry.

The entire Weasley family was now sitting at the table, along with Hermione and Harry. The children were sitting at one end and the adults were sitting at the other. Both parties were talking, laughing, and joking, the former more so than the latter. It was unlike anything Draco had ever seen before. Everyone looked… happy.

When the two had fully entered the room, everyone seemed to notice their arrival at the same instant. Cosette, who had been looking up, reburied her head in Draco's dress shirt at the sight of so many eyes.

'_Great,_' Draco though, _'Now I get to explain to this whole incident to them too._' The thought crossed his mind, though, that the adults might have already told them.

He quickly dismissed that thought after looking around at everyone's faces. They were so shocked that Ron, the Weasley in Draco's year, had his jaw hung as low as it would go. The twins, however, remedied this by throwing a booger-flavored bean from the box of Bertie's Every Flavor Beans that was sitting on the table.

Ron coughed and gagged when the bean hit his throat, but it was effective in getting everyone's eyes off Draco. Fred gave him a thumbs up and a goofy grin.

"Go on dears, have a seat," She said to Draco and Cosette.

"Children," she started again, looking at the rest of the people at the table, "I believe that there is something we need to discuss. Malfoys…"

. 0Oo.

When Draco walked into the room the Golden Trio was beyond shocked. Ron looked back and forth between Hermione and Harry. Draco was here. At 12 Grimmauld Place. With the Order. To say Ron was confused was an understatement.

Harry was in an even worst state than Ron. Hermione was shocked, to say the least, but she was the only one to notice that Draco hadn't entered the room alone. In his arms was a small child with long, white-blonde hair and pale skin. At least from what she could see. She knew instantly that they looked too much alike and that their current circumstances were too bizarre for them to be anything but siblings.

She supposed that she could deal with that. She knew it was possible that he had siblings; he had never suggested otherwise. That wasn't what worried her though. What worried her wasn't the small child in his arms, but the look on his face.

His face was drawn taut, as if in pain. Whether he knew it or not, the faint outlines of tear tracks could still be seen on his slightly flushed face. His hair was ruffled and naturally fell loosely in a way that indicated that he hadn't taken the time in the morning to fill it full of gel.

The most obvious sign of his struggles, at least his internal ones, were in his eyes. Draco's eyes were normally a cool gray that carried a glare more often than not. But now, now they were cloudy, troubled, he looked like he was barely able to hold himself together. She yearned to give him the hug which he would deny he needed.

Two things stopped her. The first being the reactions and thoughts of the other people in the room, not that she hadn't done things they looked down on in the past. Her second, and greatest fear, was that is she were to touch him he would break. That he would break, as would the child in his arms. Hermione could see the poor thing shaking from where she sat, and her mind echoed the quite noises of sobbing that gave an undertone to the room's eerie silence.

After Mrs. Weasley spoke Draco took slow, steady steps forward and took a seat in the chair between Professor Lupin and Hermione. Hermione threw him a sympathetic glance that he simply ignored. Lupin turned and clapped a hand on his shoulder, as well and ruffling the girl's hair to try to comfort them.

If they accepted Remus, the werewolf's, help, it meant that something pretty drastic was going on, and this situation was about to get a whole lot more complicated.

Mrs. Weasley stood at the head of the table, so as to start the discussion.

"Alright," she started in a somewhat exasperated tone, "there's a lot to tell you children."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Notes:** This is a bit of a longer one, almost 2,000 words (which I know doesn't sound like a lot but when writing it, it seems like more.)

Anyway, in this chapter I know Draco is OOC but in this story the more sensitive side, the side they didn't know existed, is exposed to the order. So yes. More on his sister to come but this part is mainly a retelling of the story. And as you can tell the story is close to half and half on who is the main character (Draco or his Sister)

Sorry that this took so long, but I have had a super busy week and my cousins were in town all weekend so I was lucky if I had 5 minutes to sit down. But anyways I'm getting caught up in chapters, meaning I'm catching up to how far I have written.

So updates may come a bit slower or faster depending on how you want to chapters.

**PLEASE REVIEW ON THE LENGTH OF CHAPTERS YOU WANT. SHORT AND MORE OFTEN, OR LONGER AND LESS OFTEN. THANKS!**

**Chapter 5**

Mrs. Weasley looked at a loss as to where she should start. There were so many complex details to explain and she knew it would take quite a while.

"First off," she started, "I'm going to continue cooking while I work. This story is a very long one an I am not going to have you people starve half way through."

Mrs. Weasley turned back to the stove and gave her wand a flick so that the simmering pot on the stove continually stirred itself. She then turned her attention back to the table and pulled one of the empty chairs around to the head, where she could sit but also be able to get up if the cooking required her to do so.

"Now if anyone who was there has something to add, feel free to jump in," she said in a reprimanding manor. She may as well have been waving her finger around and pointing it at the table guests.

"I won't give you any of the details that you children need not know, but I will tell you what you need to know," she paused, mentally preparing herself to retell the story that changed her whole point of view on the Malfoys, and the world in general.

"It started when we had a mission to infiltrate the Malfoy manor. We had apparated and then the twins and your Arthur took the flying car. We hid the car in the bushes and we all waited outside the barrier. Mad-Eye used a spell on the wards so that we could pass through undetected. And before you ask, no I don't know what it was, and no, he won't teach it to you.

"Sirius led the way and we slipped through the gardens and up towards the house. All of us split up and moved to a different entrance. The plan was to have the people at the front create a diversion so that all of the death eaters would go to one spot, and then we could attack them from the other directions once we got into the house."

At this point in the story Molly Weasley had the attention of everyone in the house, even Kretcher (sp?) , the house elf.

"The plan worked very well if I do say so myself. The dark lord, if he was ever even there, fled and we never saw him. The death eaters all ran to the main entryway or foyer, whichever you call it, and a battle ensued.

"And it wasn't pretty I will tell you that. There were, however, no deaths on our side."

At this all of the people in the room breathed a sigh of relief. Even thought they could see that all of the members of the order who had gone on the were sitting at the table, it was reassuring to hear someone say that they all made it back alright.

Well, alright depends on certain peoples definitions. Let's leave it at none of them were dead or mortally injured and in grave peril.

"At the end of the battle eight death eaters had perished and three more were captured. They were already taken to the Ministry, thanks to Arthur. That was when Remus suggested the we search for any that were hiding in the house; so we did."

Everyone bated their breath as she got to the part they had all wanted to hear. Even the ones who were there wanted to hear it again, so as to make sure that they didn't miss anything when they were there in person.

"Low and behold in came Remus carrying the child!" she said in a tone that said it was both unexpected and a bit problematic.

"I honestly have no idea where he found her; you'll have to ask him yourself for that tidbit."

All of the children were shifting in their seats anxiously. They all desperately wanted to know what had happened, and it seemed like Mrs. Weasley was dragging out the story and adding side comments just to torture them.

"Shortly after he walked in he passed me the child-"

" More like you snatched," Remus said under his breath. If Mrs. Weasley heard, she flat out ignored him.

"-and I sat in a chair with her in my lap for a while. Once she had calmed down a bit I asked her her name, and she said it was Cosette Malfoy and then said a few other things I didn't understand. The child mainly spoke Italian, so we had to have Draco translate for us-"

"Wait where was Draco?!"Harry interjected. He hadn't heard Draco's name mentioned before and he thought it was rather odd that he sudden appeared in the story.

'_If the Malfoy manor was a death eater hangout, then wouldn't that mean they were going to take Draco to the Ministry for being a death eater too?' _ Harry thought.

"Shush Harry! I was getting to that," she said with a sigh.

"Anyway," she continued, "Draco had been captured and was sitting on the floor not too far away and he heard our conversation. He said that she speaks English, and I could tell that was true since she seemed to understand what I was saying, she just responded in a completely different language."

"So I asked her a few more questions, though she didn't say much, and then I set her back down on the floor. That was when she got up and hobbled her merry little way over to Draco. I swear the child hasn't let go of him since, not that I blame her for it. It's been a traumatic day for her. And being only 4! Uh!" Mrs. Weasley made a distressful noise to prove how terrible she felt the child's day had been. The order member's noted that she purposefully left out that Lucius Malfoy was among the deceased.

"And after that we came straight home. That's really all there is to the story I suppose - oh my I think she fell asleep."

And sure enough, the pale child was snuggled into Draco's shirt. It really was a cute sight, one child's fists balled tightly into the fabric of his shirt, and her other thumb was in her mouth. She looked like a little angel.

While sleeping the hem of her shirt slipped down just enough that Sirius could see what looked like the green hue of a fading bruise. He would have to look into that when the three of them were alone. But for now, it seemed that no one else had noticed the mark.

After everyone was done cooing at the child, Mrs. Weasley turned to Draco, asking him to tell his side of the story.

That perked everyone's interest, seeing as none of them had witnessed any of the even from a death eaters point of view.

Draco froze. He was putting a lot of trust in them by even being here. If he told them too much it would spell disaster. But then again, if he told them, there was always the possibility that they could help him.

After all, Snape had switched sides more often than he cared to think about, but he was always welcome at their table. Maybe, just maybe he could trust them.

Draco took a deep breath. He might as well tell them, seeing as they would find out some way or another.

'_Or maybe they'll just have Mad-Eye torture me,"_ he thought.

"There isn't much to say," he started, "We were all having a meeting in the dining room when we heard a crashing sound. Most of the death eaters fled with the dark lord, but some of them went to see who, or what, it was. We got there and a battle ensued. Then I was captured and they found Cosette and that's the end," Draco said, conveniently forgetting about the part where he was supposed to have an incredibly dangerous and immoral mission.

"So you admit to being a death eater!" Harry shouted as he stood up.

The other members looked shocked that he had caused such an outburst, and were grateful that he didn't wake the child and cause another fit of tears.

All eyes turned to Draco and he lowered his head so that his eyes were solely focused on the dining table.

"So you don't deny it?!" Harry said, rising again from his seat. Tonks put her hand on his shoulder, signaling that he should reseat himself once more.

"It's not like I wanted it," they heard Draco whisper.

"If you didn't want the dark mark and you didn't want to follow him then why did you?! You could have said no! But you didn't! You said yes because you're a Malfoy and all they do is hurt people!" Harry was in a full out rage now.

Draco reached down and covered his sister's ears with his hands. All the yelling had woken her up and he didn't want her to hear what he was going to say next.

"You think I had a choice?!" Draco hissing voice had now almost matched Harry's volume. The atmosphere in the room was growing tenser by the second, but none of the adults could bring themselves to put a stop the fight. In truth, they had all wanted to know why he would join the dark side if he said he didn't want to.

"Of course you had a choice! There is always another way!" Harry bellowed.

Cosette started to sniffle again. Even though she couldn't hear anything, she could feel the tension in the room.

"I didn't have a choice! Voldemort didn't threaten to hurt me if I didn't join; he threatened to hurt her! He was going to bloody rape her for god sakes. Do you think I could let that happen and live with myself? She bloody four years old! She shouldn't have to go through that and she does!" He paused for a breath, but he certainly wasn't done.

"Do you think I like it? Knowing I hurt people? Because I don't! I hate myself for and I have to live every day knowing that there will always be something worse, and someday I'm going to run out of usefulness and he's going to straight out kill me!

"Then she'd be alone. I don't want that for her. She's lost too much already. I hate myself for what's already happened, what still happens, but if I stop playing obedient servant things will get so much worse! I can't do that to her! You know why?" Draco continued to yell, "It's because I love her. She's my sister and I'm not going to let her down. I can't-"

It was at this point that Draco lowered his head so they wouldn't be able to see that tears coming down his face. He had been taught to never show weakness. But then again, he listened to his father's teachings at first and look where it had gotten him.

He slowly lifted his head. He was afraid to see their reactions, but he couldn't hide from them when they were in the same house.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

(Authors Notes) Okay so I am going to try to make each chapter longer. The other ones I already had made and I was too lazy to combine them so consider the chapters longer starting now.

And thank you so much for all the reviews and support! Sorry I haven't really responded to them, I'm still trying to work out the whole PM thing. Thanks again!

**Chapter 6**

The reaction Draco got was certainly not the one that he expected. Instead of cold, hard hatred he saw sympathy and compassion. No one had ever shown him compassion before and it filled his heart with warmth he had never known before.

By this point in time Draco had removed his hands from his sister's ears. He sat there in a stunned silence, his sister equally silent in his arms.

A force collided with Draco from his right, causing his chair to sway dangerously from once side to the other. He was about to prepare to attack when a pair of arms encircled his shoulders.

To say he was stunned was an understatement. He slowly turned his head and was met with a face-full of red hair that could belong only to Ginny Weasley. He couldn't see her face, but he knew from her shaking and sniffling that she was crying.

Draco shifted his body so that he was facing her, and swiftly wrapped his arms around her shaking form. He hadn't been hugged for as long as he could remember, excluding his sister.

Ginny slowly drew away from the hug and stood from her crouched position. She wiped her face with the sleeve of her robe, but didn't leave the side of Draco's chair.

Draco took another look at the faces around him, and no one, not even Harry Potter, held the slightest hint of anger in their eyes. A surge of relief coursed through his veins and he heard a slight whisper coming from the end of the table.

"I'm sorry mate. I didn't know. To be honest if I were in your boat I would probably have done the same thing. It was-"

"Don't worry about it," Draco cut him off in an equally quiet whisper. Never did he think, in 100 years, that he would be comforting the boy he had labeled an enemy from day one.

Sirius Black stood from his seat. He slowly made his way over to the Malfoy pair. He placed a hand on Ginny's shoulder and gave her a reassuring nod. Her eyes were filled with remorse as she walked back to her seat. Sirius then leaned down and whispered into Draco's ear, and he gave a small, fearful nod.

Sirius looked up and addressed the rest of the table's members.

"I need to speak with the Malfoys. Privately. I'll bid you goodnight now, seeing as I don't know how long this will take."

Draco then stood up, cradling his sister in his arms once more. He turned sharply and followed Sirius as he exited the room.

The trio was gone before anyone could protest. The order simply looked at each other in shock. A good few minutes passed when Molly announced that she would be serving dinner.

No one ate much; however, and it had nothing to do with Mrs. Weasley's cooking. Their minds were too occupied with the day's events and trials.

. 0Oo.

Draco followed Sirius up the flight of stairs that were to the right of Mrs. Black's portrait. They turned several more corners until they ended up in front of a plain oak door. Sirius pushed it open to reveal a spare guest room. He gestured Draco inside, ignoring the insecure look in Draco's eyes.

Draco walked straight to the bed and sat down, his sister never leaving his lap.

Sirius followed into the room, closing the door behind him. He walked until he stood in front of Draco and Cosette.

"I know," he said plainly.

Draco looked horrified as he pictured the many terrible things the man could know and might use against him. Sirius walked forward and sat down close to the pair. So close, in fact, that his mere proximity sent Draco's senses on high alert.

"No need to be so frightened. We are family after all."

Draco held in his remarks as to where this 'family' was when he really needed them.

"Cosette," he started, noticing her terrified eyes, "I know that you're hurt. Let me help you."

She looked even more terrified than she had in the beginning, and she was starting to hyperventilate under the stress. Draco rubbed her back soothingly in an attempt to calm her before she worked herself into a knot.

"I saw the bruises earlier. I just need to make sure that you are alright."

She was terrified and shook against Draco's form. Someone knew. _Someone_ knew. Someone _knew. _In her four-year-old mind that classified was as beyond bad. She wasn't supposed to tell and no one was supposed to know.

She wasn't sure what she was scared of more, Sirius's reaction to her scars or her father's reaction to the knowledge that someone had found out their secret.

Then she remembered her father, lying on his back in a puddle of his own blood, in the manor's entryway. She remembered his open yet dead eyes. They bored into her very soul and left her feeling empty and alone.

Her eyes snapped themselves shut in an effort to remove their image from her mind. It didn't work. Her vision grew dark and only the image of those cold, dead, blue eyes was visible. Inching closing, they came to a point where she was sure that they would run into her if they moved. In the face of such large, terrifying eyes, she did the only thing she could; she screamed.

. 0Oo.

"I saw the bruises earlier. I just need to make sure that you are alright."

He waited for what seemed like an eternity for either of them to say anything. The entire time Draco was sending him glares that surely had come from the pits of hell themselves.

After all that happened Sirius couldn't bring himself to return the favor. Knowing what that boy went through was bad enough, but knowing that he did it to protect someone he loved made the blow even worse.

'_If only I had known,'_ Sirius thought, '_I could have helped him - should have helped him. No, that's not true. I couldn't have done anything from that torturous prison. But still, they look so broken, and I can't help but feel like I could have stopped it – like it was my fault.'_

Sirius was so lost in his thoughts that he, too, lost track of time. He was brought back into sharp awareness by Cosette's petite and shrill scream. It contained all the despair, fear, loneliness, pain, and confusion she must have been feeling after the day.

Looking down at her form, she was now in full out hyperventilation. She was wheezing and shaking hard enough to shake her protector as well. Draco, he could tell, was at a loss as to what to do. While it was sad that Draco couldn't comfort her, it was good to know that she wasn't often so terrified that she had panic attacks.

This was all too much for her little mind. Sirius was beginning to doubt his choice. Maybe he shouldn't have brought them up here.

Draco was old enough to handle himself, even after what a shock it had been. But Cosette? She was a bloody toddler!

He chastised himself for not thinking of it sooner. To reveal so much of their personal life in one day was traumatic for anyone, and it was made even worse when one had as complicated a past as those two.

He decided that it was too much to ask too soon. They had met only 6 hours ago, and he was expecting the child to be open and share her weaknesses.

'_No,' _Sirius thought, _' I can't ask this of them. Not yet. It's too soon._'

He walked over to the bed, all the while trying to appear as laid-back as possible. He went into a crouch before the two, resting his elbows on his knees.

"It's quite alright if you're not ready," he said quietly.

The Malfoys looked at him in shock. They were shocked that he had given them the choice to begin with. Their expectation of the man was full of violence when, to be honest, he had the temperament of a fluffy puppy (which he was, but they didn't need to know that).

Cosette's sobbing slowed at his words, and she blinked her eyes in disbelief. Sirius reached out a hand and mused her hair before doing the same to her older counterpart. He stood, turned, and walked slowly to the door. When he was close to the door, he turned again and said,

"Why don't you two clean up. Draco, I can grab you some of my extra clothes; Cosette, I bet you could wear some of the things Ginny long outgrew. Two doors down, on the left, is the bathroom, and the towels are in the cabinet next to the mirror. I'll bring you guys some food in a while, and I'll leave it in here if you aren't back by then.

Draco nodded his head and smoothed his sister's hair with the other. Sirius turned back toward the door when he heard Draco quietly speak,

"Thank you, Black."

"Anytime. If you need anything don't hesitate to ask," he said turning to the door once more.

And with that, he was gone. He never saw Draco's nodding smile at his words.

. 0Oo.

The walk down the stairs seemed too short for his liking. He knew that as soon as he walked in the door he would be thrown a million questions.

And, as usual, he was right.

"What was that?" Lupin started, but was cut off when Hermione said,

"They didn't even eat yet!"

No doubt Mrs. Weasley noticed that too and would chew him out later. Speaking of Mrs. Weasley, he needed to remind her to see about the children's wounds later. And yes, Draco still- he was pulled out of his thoughts by more yelling.

"Are they okay? You didn't hurt then did you?" Sirius was slightly output, knowing that one of them thought him capable of hurting children.

"Relax everyone. I will talk with the adults later about our subject matter, and yes I know they haven't eaten yet. I thought they might like to calm down and clean up a bit. I'll bring them food later, so no need to fret. They're perfectly fine, just slightly… worked up. Don't worry about it and finish your dinner."

No one said a word as Sirius walked to his seat. Molly placed a plate in front of the shaggy-haired man, and he slowly began to eat. The rest of that night's dinner was a silent affair.

Once the dishes were stacked and the table wiped off, everyone sat back in their seats, awaiting directions.

"Alright children. You've all had a long day and the adults have some things to discuss. Now, off to bed with you!" she shooed them away in a motherly tone that left no room for argument. That doesn't mean that they didn't grumble though.

They all stood up, pushed their chairs in, and walked in a single file line. Their feet could be heard trudging up the stairs, and it wasn't until the noise faded that Molly spoke again.

"I sent Kreacher up with some food a while ago. I think they are comfortable enough with house elves to not be bothered by his appearance in their room. Besides, Kreacher was more than happy do it, them being purebloods and all." The figures at the table nodded.

"Sirius, will you tell us now? We didn't have much warning before you took them, and I'm curious as to what was so urgent," Tonks said.

"I believe I saw what it," Mad-Eye said. The statement took everyone by surprise, seeing as he had been silent most of the evening. "You saw the bruise too, on her neck, am I right?"

Sirius gave a solemn nod of his head, and the other member's at the table adopted a shocked expression for the umpteenth time that day.

"You don't mean to imply…" Molly started. She couldn't bring herself to say that the children were abused. Of course she knew that there was virtually no love in the family, beside the one shared by Draco and Cosette, but she never thought it was that bad of a situation.

"I do. And it gets worse as well." Sirius took a pause to let the other adults absorb this. They were very shocked, to say the least.

"What happened?" Arthur Weasley was the one who dared ask the question. Sirius took a rather large and heavy sigh and said,

"I asked them about it. Well, her more specifically but only Draco said anything the entire time. But when I asked, they froze. I have never seen such fear in a child's eyes as I did in hers. She screamed, and I heard her mumble the word 'no' quietly over and over. She started hyperventilating, and it got to the point where I thought she was going to pass out."

Sirius paused to catch his breath before continuing, "She finally started to calm down, and I told her that it could wait if she wasn't ready. I had the feeling that if her wounds were critical, Draco would have swallowed his pride and asked for our help. Besides, she wasn't ready to deal with much more - emotionally that is."

The table members sat in silence while they processed the information. Remus was the first to speak after the stale silence.

"We need to tell Dumbledore. He should know that we have taken the two into protective custody. And there's always the possibility that there are other like them. If this happened under our noses and in one of the most well-known families in the wizarding world, it's bound to have happened other places."

Their hearts broke again at the thought of other children having to go through the horrors those two had seen.

"We'll need to see their wounds," Molly started, ever the mother. "If Cosette it hurt, it makes it all the more likely that Draco is hurt as well, and just better at hiding it. You all know how sneaky teenagers can be."

That thought startled Sirius. He hadn't thought about the possibility of Draco being hurt as well. He cursed himself mentally for not realizing and asking when he had the chance.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now," Tonks said. "Let's just let them rest and check again tomorrow. Sirius, if you could please write Dumbledore? You saw it first hand and would be the best to retell it."

Sirius nodded and silently stood and exited the room. He might as well start now, seeing as he was going to get very little sleep that night anyway.

It was, at this point, quite late. The sun had already gone down, and the house was silent. The rest of the order stood, bidding each other 'good night' and to 'sleep well' in the process.

They all made their way to their respective rooms, hoping that they could catch even a wink of sleep after such a trying day. Though it took hours, one by one they all drifted into an uneasy sleep, comforted by the thought that tomorrow was sure to be easier than this day had been.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Author notes: Sorry this update took so long! I totally forgot that I didn't post the new chapter! Alright...

**Chapter 7**

Draco had never been more grateful for a shower in his life. It was slightly awkward, seeing as his sister didn't want to leave his side. They settled for the compromise that she could sit in the bathroom and draw on the foggy mirror after her turn.

Her bath had gone without a hitch, though Draco internally cringed at the sight of every scar, burn, and bruise.

Draco stepped out of the shower, towel wrapped around his waist. Cosette turned and smiled at him, before she returned to her drawing of what he supposed was a fairy. Or was it a sailboat? Either way it didn't matter.

Ginny's old clothes fit her fairly well, though they were rather loose on her skinny frame. He had to admit that she looked adorable in the tiny rainbow nightgown.

Draco reached for the shirt on the counter. Sirius had said something about it being his, and he hoped that it wasn't anything too bad.

To his surprise, it was simply a black tee shirt, and underneath it were a pair of boxers. On the bottom there were thickly woven pants with broomstick scattered across them.

'_Well, it could have been so much worse,"_ Draco thought as he pulled the clothes on. He threw his towel onto the rack next to the shower and ran his hand through his hair, not even bothering to brush it. It was too short to get tangley (sp?) really.

Cosette scooted to the edge of the counter, preparing to jump, but was swiftly picked up and placed on the floor instead. She looked up at Draco, pouting expression on her face, but he just smirked and rubbed the top of her head.

Her hands immediately flew to her hair in attempt to fix the damage done. She followed Draco like a shadow as he left the bathroom and turned back down the hall towards their room.

They had been in the room no more than 30 seconds when they heard a crack behind them. Draco spun on a dime, simultaneously pulling out his want and pushing his sister behind him.

He felt silly, afterwards, for it was only a house elf, which was odd considering the people who lived here.

"Kreacher has brought masters Malfoy some dinner," the creature started in a raspy and dark voice. "Mrs. Black would be so pleased to have you here, Oh yes she would. Finally some pure blood in this house again, there is. I'll leave this here masters and get it later." And with a crack he was gone.

'_Well,'_ Draco thought '_that explains why there is a house elf here. He obviously feels that he is guarding the house.' _

Cosette walked over to the table and took the lid off of the serving platter, helping herself to one of the sandwiches and a glass of pumpkin juice. Draco soon followed her lead.

He sat on the floor cross-legged, her in his lap.

"You know," he started, "I think we are safe here. As much as I hate to admit it, they really are good people. But don't worry; I won't go anywhere. I'll never leave you okay?"

She nodded and continued to eat her sandwich. They sat there for some time, even after they had finished eating. The house elf had, at some point, come back to reclaim the used dishes, though Draco didn't notice when he did.

He didn't know how long they had sat there, but Cosette had fallen asleep in his lap… again.

He cautiously stood, careful not to wake her even though she was out like a light. He laid her on the bed, but she wouldn't let go of his shirt, which was tightly balled into her fists. After many minutes of careful prying, he was able to free himself and crawl in next to her.

He pulled her close, as much to comfort her as himself. He wanted nothing more to sleep away his troubles like so many other nights.

And for once, he didn't want to wake up and have it all have been a dream.

. 0Oo.

Draco woke to fluorescent rays of sunshine hitting his face. He opened his eyes, but instantly regretted it after being blinded. He slowly sat up, his muscles stiff from the awkward position he had slept in while holding his sister.

His sister… Draco frantically turned his head left and right in search of the small child. His eyes scanned the room starting in the left corner and making their way over all the nooks and crannies where she could have hidden.

She wasn't there.

A fear set in him that he hadn't felt since back at the manor. He whipped his head around one more time and, after seeing nothing, quickly flew from his bed and towards the armoire.

Kreacher had placed more spare clothes in there. Thank god. He stripped himself of his clothes and place the new ones on with impressive speed.

The young Malfoy heir was dressed in a dark grey button-up shirt that had a pocket on the left breast. The sleeves were a few inches too long, so he rolled them up. Below the shirt were black trousers that, miraculously, were the perfect fit.

After accomplishing said tasks in record speed, he opened the door to his room and walked as calmly down the stairs as he could manage. He prayed, or as close to praying as he could get, that his sister was just downstairs eating breakfast.

When he entered the kitchen, a few of the order's member glanced up at him, but they quickly resumed what they were doing.

Relief flooded through him when he saw his sister sitting on Sirius Black's lap. At least she was here, safe, and not kidnapped by a death eater or ministry worker; or worse yet, their Aunt Bellatrix. He shuddered at the thought of being in her terrifying and psychopathic presence.

Draco's mind drifted back towards their current situation. Why on earth had she left him in the first place? The entire time that she had been here, so far at least, she hadn't even so much as let go of his shirt, much less leave his side.

With no more answers than he started with, he simply sat down at the table next to Lupin, which happened to be the same place as the night before.

"Good morning dearie," Mrs. Weasley said with much more enthusiasm than this morning, or any morning that wasn't Christmas, warranted.

Draco simply nodded his head and set to work on the food occupying the plate that had been placed in front of him moments ago.

"Morning," Cosette murmured quietly, and in English.

The members sitting at the table all looked at her, clearly surprised that she both spoke English and had said anything at all. Though her greeting had been quiet, no one but Draco had expected such.

Cosette started to become nervous under the stares of the others in the room. It was only when Draco returned the greeting and Sirius mused her hair that she calmed down.

She went back to nibble on the last of her breakfast that was a piece of toast. Sirius was still running his fingers through her hair and, for reasons even she didn't know, it soothed her.

Draco watched the interaction between his second cousin and sister before looking down at his breakfast and resuming eating.

It was a fair amount of time before he noticed Ginny's stare on himself. He returned the stare wholehearted when he did.

"Is there something I can help you with?" he said, sounding mildly annoyed to have to deal with staring issues so early in the morning.

"Oh!" Ginny said as if she just realized what she had been doing, "I didn't mean to stare! It's just… your hair looks so different when you don't gel it back."

"Well sorry," he said with attitude, "I was a bit more worried about finding my missing sister than fixing my hair."

"I didn't mean it like that," she trailed off,. "But I like it!"

"Like what?"

"Your hair! I think it looks nice like that. More natural and easygoing if that even makes sense."

"Thank you," he said in an even tone. "I was unaware my hair had a personality as well. I'll keep that in mind for the future." He broke out into a grin after the last part of his statement.

"Impossible!" the twins simultaneously exclaimed.

At this point all heads turned to them. Apparently everyone had been listening to the conversation between the youngest Weasley and the Malfoy heir.

"Now what was that about?" asked Tonks, who had walked into the room moments before, her hair glowing a neon pink.

"Pretty!" Cosette chirped as she reached out over the large distance to try and touch the brightly colored hair.

Her comment was ignored, however, in favor of staring at the twins.

"You have to understand our shock when he," Fred started, and George finished, " Draco Malfoy that is, made a joke. A real joke!"

"And I missed it?!" Ron yelled, walking into the room, a tired-looking Hermione trailing after him.

"Are you quite finished yet?" Draco asked in a very annoyed tone. "I suppose someone forgot to inform me I was not allowed to have a sense of humor."

The rest of the room looked at him in shock, but they were in a loss as to what to say. They all simply retook their seats; or, if they were new to the table, claimed some.

The rest of the meal passed by in intervals of awkward and comfortable silence.

"Alright," Mrs. Weasley said, walking towards the table while drying her hands on a cloth. She continued to list people's names and assign them rooms. The only people who didn't have their names called were Draco, Cosette, Sirius, and Mrs. Weasley. He knew what that meant… questions. And probably a lot of mothering if he knew anything about the Weasley mother.

It seemed that Draco was the only person to notice that certain people had been left out.

One by one the teens and adults sitting at the table stood up, their chairs screeching over the wood of the floor as they moved. They formed a line of sorts and placed their dishes into the sink before making their way to their assigned rooms to exterminate unwanted pests and clean.

Everyone was obviously more tired than they had appeared, meaning that none of them slept very well last night, when they didn't notice the four figures that made no more whatsoever.

Draco began to feel uncomfortable as the eyes of the two adult drifted between him and his sister.

"Draco, I think we should head back upstairs to you and Cosette's room. I believe there are some matters we have to discuss," Sirius said in a solemn tone.

The question was met with a small nod, and Draco slowly rose from his seat and turned toward the door. He began to make his way to his room, not even looking back to see if the other three were following him. He was walking slowly anyways, trying to prolong the inevitable, and they could have caught up even if they had not been following at first.

The closer he grew to his room, the more anxious he got. He clenched his hands into fists, willing them to stop, or at least hide, their trembling.

He finally got to the room and walked in the door without pause.

The phrase, _might as well get it over with,_ ran through his head.

When he reached the corner near the bed he simply turned around, ignoring the bed in favor of a standing position. At least when he was standing he felt less vulnerable.

He watched as Sirius entered the room, Cosette in his arms, with Mrs. Weasley behind him. The latter shut the door as she entered, and walked to the middle of the room beside the other.

"Do have a seat dear," Mrs. Weasley started in her 'mother voice'.

Draco slowly made his was over to the bed in the corner. As he did so, Sirius bent down and set Cosette on the floor, who promptly ran to her brother. She clambered up the side on the bed and onto her brother's lap before he had a chance to say anything otherwise. Not that he would have anyway.

The two looked back at Mrs. Weasley as she began to speak. She had more of a way with words, so it wasn't surprising that Sirius had left that job to her.

"Sirius informed me that he had a chat with you yesterday over your condition, and was quite concerned as to your true state of health. He said that you had agreed to accept help if I were to give, and I fully intend to carry that out."

Mrs. Weasley looked at the two, and both looked nervous, more nervous than they should be, even under these circumstances.

TBC

**Sorry it is not a cliffhanger, but it would have ended up being way too long if I didn't end it here. **


	8. Chapter 8

(Author's Notes) Dang! This one is over 3,000 words! (Which, again, is a lot more than it sounds like. It was almost 9 pages in Word!) I made it long to make up for the day-late updates the past 2 weeks.

Also it was brought to my attention that it sounded like Draco and Ginny had a thing going on, but I assure you that it WILL NOT be romantic between them.

And thank you guys so much for the review, favs, and follows. You people are what keeps me writing!

Now… on with the chapter!

**Chapter 8**

**(Note: this chapter will be from Mrs. Weasley's point of view, but still in third person if that makes sense, and then maybe Sirius's depending on how long the first takes)**

Draco's shaking, no matter how much he tried to suppress it, worried her. If it were one of her boys, or even Harry, they'd have had their shirts off already, telling her to hurry up. But not Draco.

He was terrified. No matter how well he wore a blank mask on his face, his eyes were a dead giveaway.

She glanced at Sirius, as if she was asking for permission to continue trying to persuade the two to let her help. Why she asked him was beyond him, but he nodded his head anyway.

Mrs. Weasley strode toward the bed at an even pace, her shoes clicking subtly on the floor. She stopped in front of them in a half-bend half-crouch position, and her hands had come to rest on the shoulders of the quivering four-and-a-half year-old.

"Why don't you start, sweetheart," Mrs. Weasley said in a calm and soothing tone. It was a tone used by mothers all over the world to comfort their children. Well, probably all except Narcissa Malfoy used this tone.

The child never gave any acknowledgement that she had even heard the woman, but she was picked up nonetheless.

Mrs. Weasley set her beside Draco on the bed, motioning with her hand for him to scoot over. By this point Sirius had come closer to the bed, and was standing at its corner beside Draco.

As Mrs. Weasley started to undress the all too compliant child from the waist up, the rest of the room waited in a tense silence.

Using her previous mothering skills to her advantage, she already had the child's outer cloak laid out on the bed, her deft fingers moving quickly through the buttons.

As the last layer of clothing, a button down cotton shirt, was unbuttoned, more of her pale skin began to show. With the last button undone, Mrs. Weasley pulled the shirt off completely, leaving the child naked from the waist up.

Cosette was shivering not just from her nerves, but now from the cold as well. The house was quite old and drafty, but at least that could be used as the excuse as to why she was shivering.

When the child's shirt had come off, Mrs. Weasley couldn't hold in her small gasp, and Sirius's face set into a deep frown. Draco looked nervous, but not at all surprised by his sister's state.

Her upper torso was more the halfway covered with bruises. They ranged from a faded green, indicating they were very old, to a deep purple, indicating them to be the newest additions.

To go along with the bruises, she had a fair amount of small burns, the shape and size of a wand tip, and small cuts scattered in between.

To say that the long-time mother was appalled was a sufficient under-exaggeration. It took all her strength, and then some, not to strangle Draco in her need for answers.

Instead of the strangling approach, she opted to keep her mouth shut all together. She knew she had a better chance of getting it out of the child if she didn't act like it was as severe as it was.

Walking back to her bag, Mrs. Weasley pulled out two jars, one filled with a creamy white gel while the other held an almost-transparent green paste.

The green one would take away the pain of the bruises and start to help them heal. The white one was for the scars. It would help them fade, but a cream could only help so much. Still, some was better than none at all.

Sitting down on the bed, she began to apply the green gel to the bruises. The child, sitting sideways on the bed, cringed not in pain, but from the unexpected coldness of the gel.

"Sorry it's so cold dearie, but don't you worry, it'll help those bruises heal right up," Mrs. Weasley assured her.

A faint smile found it's way to the child's lips, and Cosette turned so it flashed to Mrs. Weasley in gratitude. It warmed Mrs. Weasley's heart that the child was beginning to trust them even after less than 24 hours.

After she finished with the bruise gel, she started to apply the cream on the scars. Cosette flinched when the cream hit some of the newer ones, but no sound escaped her lips. In a way it worried her that the child was so quiet. If it had been one of her own, they would have shrieked from the coldness of the medicines alone, not to mention the pain it was probably causing her.

When she finished with the cream, she set both onto the bed. She had the feeling that Draco would need them as well, if history was any indication.

"Now keep your shirt off until those dry alright dearie? Otherwise your clothes will stick to them and it won't be very comfortable."

The child nodded her acceptance of the order. She looked toward Draco, raising her arm so that she was pointing to him.

"Draco gonna get better too?" she asked in what had to be one of the cutest voices Sirius had ever heard. She even tilted her head to the side as she asked the question. She just kept getting cuter and cuter.

"Of course, aren't we Draco?" Mrs. Weasley replied. Now she had him trapped. There was no way he could refuse the wills of the other three occupants of the room.

Throughout the whole ordeal, Sirius had been quiet. No one had said much of anything, leaving the questioning for last, but he had been especially quiet.

Cosette shifted position so that she was crawling on all fours and made her way over to her older brother. She reached out and took his hand. A pull brought him closer to Mrs. Weasley and the center of the bed.

Under normal circumstances he would have objected, but he didn't have the heart to tell his sister no. And even if he did, he knew that Mrs. Weasley wouldn't put up with it. And for what it's worth, he preferred to keep her on his side, seeing as he didn't know how long he was going to be staying in Grimmauld Place.

His sister let go of his hand, instead using her hand to pat the bed as an indication to sit where she had. Draco complied and his sister scooted back over to the corner of the bed where he had been sitting next to a very tense second cousin Sirius.

A hand landed on his shoulder, and he faced back toward Mrs. Weasley, who had an almost pained expression on her face.

"You can trust us. We only want to help you."

Letting Cosette go first had worked well in their favor. It showed him that they really did want to help. He probably would have insisted that she go first anyways, as he was always putting her wellbeing above his.

Draco didn't nod his head. Or smile. Or move at all really.

"I can do it myself," he said tersely as he started to wrangle himself out of his cloak. The action hurt, not that he would admit that to anyone.

With the hindrance of the outer cloak gone, he set to work on the shirt that was clearly too big for him.

"Remind me to ask Ron for some of his clothes. Those are much too big for you dear," Mrs. Weasley said in a way that could have been either reproving or pity underlined with sadness. Whichever it was was a mystery to him, but he wouldn't have said anything either way.

His pale skin had begun to show through where the buttons had already been undone, and the two Order members could tell that he was going to be in a worse state than his sister. Much worse.

After he finished unhooking the last button he pulled his shirt off, not able to suppress the grimace on his face. Both adults caught the look that he had hoped, in vain, they missed.

Neither made comment, however, much to his relief.

After the shirt came off, the two saw the state of his torso, and neither could hold back a gasp. He was in a much worse state than his sister.

In a way, Sirius though it was both sweet and brave. The wounds he had were similar to his sister's, but eight times worse in severity. Sirius knew what that meant; he had been shielding his sister. He had taken what she was supposed to receive upon himself, and in that moment, Draco unknowingly earned his highest respects. Any 15 year-old who would do something like that voluntarily to protect someone else was worthy of respect in his books.

Sirius's attention was refocused when he heard Molly say,

"My goodness! How on earth did you move about like you did? Why didn't you ask for help last night?"

Draco said nothing, his head bowed in defeat.

"It was brave, what you did," Sirius said suddenly. Draco looked up at him, shocked that he had figured out why his were the worst so quickly. One look in the man's eyes showed him that his second cousin meant it. His eyes were full of both compassion and respect.

Draco didn't reply to that statement either, this time more out of shock than stubbornness.

A cool hand on his shoulder startled him back into the present. He glanced back at the Weasley mother before turning back to Sirius.

"Spin around dear, facing the wall like you sister did."

He complied, twisting himself as quickly as he dare. It really wouldn't do him any good to show the pain so soon. It would have been so much harder to downplay.

Mrs. Weasley took note of how slowly, carefully, he turned. When his back was towards her, she spoke again,

"You can't hide that from me dear. Keep in mind I have six children. I know what it looks like when someone is hiding something from me."

Draco gave a small nod of his head. He had been caught, but in a way it was a relief that he didn't have to pretend that he wasn't hurting. He allowed himself a small chuckle at the situation.

"Alright now raise your arms so they are level with your shoulders," she instructed. He did so, but only made it half way up before a gasp escaped from his lips. It felt like his sides were on fire and it was hard to breathe. It hadn't been this bad last night! Maybe he just didn't notice it back then…

He tried again, this time making it all the way, but a grimace he didn't even bother to hide settled on his face.

Cool hands landed on both sides of his stomach, making him shiver.

"Sorry my hands are so cold. You'll just have to bear with me a moment."

He gave a small nod in acknowledgement. After seeing his nod, her hands began to travel upward, one on either side of his rib cage. She gave each rib a slight push to make sure that everything was in working order.

However, she only made it three ribs up before she found what she knew would be there. As she tested the rib with a push, it moved beneath her fingers. The action caused Draco to take in a large breath in pain.

"Sorry about that dear, but I have to check." She made a mental note of the fractured rib and continued her search.

By the time that she finished she had found three cracked ribs on the left side, and two on the right that were only slightly cracked.

She grabbed the two creams she had used on Cosette and applied them to their various counterparts. She pretended not to notice every time Draco flinched at being touched.

Whens he finished with the creams, she returned them to her bag that was on the table on the other side of the room. She returned with a couple rolls of bandages and a small vial.

"I'm going to need to bind the ribs while the bone-grow takes affect. I don't want them to heal the wrong way, and I dare not spell them with how close they are to your heart and lungs."

A meek nod was the only answer the woman got.

She sat behind him once again, and he lifted his arms before she even had the chance to ask. She began to wrap the ribs, and about a fourth of the way done she stopped and asked him to take as deep a breath as he could.

He did so obediently, though the pain the action caused was evident in his face.

She finished wrapping his ribs and tucked the end of the bandage in. Draco took the vile of bone-grow and downed it in one go. He handed the vile back to her, his face still wearing the funny look the taste of the potion had given him.

"Oh don't look like that. It isn't that bad," she teased him. It would do him some good to be in a more light-hearted environment. She walked back to her bag and put away the empty vile and remaining bandages.

"Um, Mrs. Weasley," she heard behind her. She turned around, still slightly surprised he had addressed her in the first place. She met his eyes with hers, egging him to go on with what he was saying.

"I was wondering if I could… um… have something… for the burning," he asked in a quiet, meekly shy voice that said he had clearly believed he would be ignored when he spoke out; that he wasn't used to being listened to.

"Burning?" she questioned. She had already gotten to all the burns on his back and chest. Had she missed something?

Draco slowly unwrapped his arm from its position on his stomach and held it out, underside facing upwards.

The dark mark was curled around his forearm. It was such a deep and charred looking black she could tell was painful by just glancing at it. The poor boy had to put up with not only his other injuries, but that wretched curse as well.

"It," he started quietly, "It really hurts." He resented that he sounded like a child, but that's not how Mrs. Weasley saw it. He sounded so defeated that it broke her heart. She reached into her bag, looking for the bottle that Snape left with them for when his was bothering him during his stays at the burrow.

Bottle in one hand and bandages in the other she strode over to the bed. She unscrewed the cap to the small container of cream and gently reached out to grasp his arm.

With a rather large glob of the light blue cream on her finger, she began to rub gentle circles on the dark mark, so that the whole thing was covered by a thick layer of it.

Draco was in too much shock to grimace at the pain. She had touched his arm. Willingly. Wasn't she afraid that she would get some curse from him? She was so gentle and loving in her ministrations that he wasn't quite unsure of how to handle the situation.

After she was done she wrapped a bandage around his forearm, both to cover the mark and protect it.

"Thank you."

She smiled at Draco. Though it was a bit disheartening to know that he didn't often have someone take care of him like this, she was pleased that he responded so well to it.

"Of course dear. Now if it is still bothering you later we can out some more on. It normally take two or three coats for Severus to get his down to a manageable level."

Draco was astounded that she brought up Snape in the first place. But in a way, it was comforting to know that she had dealt with the dark mark before and wasn't just shooting in the dark.

With a nod Draco said, "Thank you." While it may have been a simple thank you, the meaning reached his eyes and he looked so truly grateful. It was still off for Molly to see so much emotion in the boy. She remembered the first time she saw him at platform 9 ¾ and the difference between the two was astounding.

The boy at the station had looked so cold, heartless, and dead. But now, he looked much like Ginny if that was even possible. She rather liked the idea, though, that he was just as much a normal person as her own children.

Realizing this, she walked back over to him and gave him a hug. It was very gentle, but filled with love and tenderness.

Sirius watched as the tense boy slowly relaxed and hugged back. A few silent tears made their way down the boy's face, only to be replaced with a smile when his sister decided she wanted in on the hug as well.

Molly hugged to two for longer than she would normally hug someone, but she decided that on this occasion, they needed it. When she finally pulled back and looked at the two, Draco's face was still slightly wet from his tears and he wore a large smile. Smiling really did suit him.

Cosette wore as big a smile as she could produce and said,

"Thanks miss!"

Mrs. Weasley smiled at the young girl, "You are quite welcome little one. But you really must call me Auntie Molly. Can you do that? And that goes for you too Draco."

Draco nodded; though, he knew he would probably still end up calling her 'Mrs. Weasley' anyway.

Cosette tapped her arm to get her attention and said, "Auntie Molly, you can call me Cosette! You too Uncle Sirius!"

Molly chuckled and nodded her head, before walking back over to 'Uncle Sirius's' side.

Sirius smiled before he started on the sentence he knew would change the mood.

"Alright you two. Before we go, we need some answers."

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

(Author's Notes) Hey guys I am so sorry that it took so long to update! I started high school a week and a half ago, and it's been a little hectic to adjust to. I promise I will try to be better, and I have most of the next chapter written, so I plan to stick to the schedule of updating every 7 days.

I would also really like to thank **n1h1l4dr3m **for all of the help and ideas! Without you, this story would not be coming along as fast as it is. Thanks a million!

As always, please R&R! Let me know any suggestions or comments!

**Chapter 9**

_Previously:_

_Sirius smiled before he started on the sentence he knew would change the mood._

"_Alright you two. Before we go we need some answers."_

At the phrase Draco's body went tense again. Any comfort he had felt from Mrs. Weasley's hug was now gone.

He sat stock straight, and wiped the tear tracks off his face using the back of his hand.

In a way, the two elders expected an abrupt reaction. There was no way that this subject was anything but sensitive, but they had to know. Anyone who could hurt a child could do irreparable damage to a normal person.

"Please dear," Molly Weasley prompted, "we only want have the best of intentions. I know how difficult it must be to share such a traumatic experience, but we need to know who did it. Whoever could hurt two innocent children could have no problem severely hurting an adult."

Draco couldn't hold in the scoff when she called them 'innocent children'. They were the children of death eaters after all. Their parents were trying to overthrow the government and turn the world into a more dark and hateful place than it already was.

The question, though, had somewhat surprised him. He figured that Sirius, of all people, would understand without even needing to be told. He did come from a pureblood family after all, and it was not exactly like said actions were in any way illegal.

"You should know. I'm surprised you even had to ask."

Molly looked confuse by the statement. She may have been a bloodtraitor, but did she really know nothing about how pureblood children were raised?

She glanced at Sirius and when she saw the understanding in his eyes, she was puzzled even more.

"I should know? How would I know?" Yep; she was clearly in the dark about traditional child-raising practices.

"It's too late anyway," Draco started again, ignoring her question. "You have already killed him, he can't do anything more than what he already has."

"Killed who dear?" She could think of the many death eaters they had killed yesterday. She had an inkling of suspicion that she knew who it was, but she prayed it wasn't true, that someone wouldn't do that to their own children.

"It was Lucius," Sirius said in a certain tone.

"But," Mrs. Weasley stuttered, "he's their father! He should love and protect them! Not harm them! If he was still alive… Oh, I'd have a few words to say to him, and then some! He should rot in jail for all I care! A man, hurting his own child? What has this world come to?""

"You wouldn't have been able to do anything anyway," Draco said. "You would only have hurt yourself by knowing what was going on and knowing that you could do nothing."

"Of course I would have helped! I-"

"Molly," Sirius interrupted, "I don't think you understand. You **couldn't** have done anything. It was perfectly within his right as their father. Anything you would have said would have meant nothing to the eyes of the Ministry."

"What do you mean legal? I don't go around abusing my children! Are you telling me that's illegal?" Molly was confused and enraged; not a good combination if you asked Draco, not that anyone had asked to begin with.

"What he means is, it's perfectly legal for him to strike us," Draco replied for his second cousin. "So long as he doesn't kill us, he's got the right to punish us as he sees fit, which includes violence." Draco couldn't bring himself to say it was abuse, even though in his mind, he knew it really was.

"All pureblood families follow those guidelines," Sirius picked up after noticing Draco's stumble, "Mine was no exception. Though it was not nearly to this degree, I can't say that I didn't receive a good whack when I did something that was seen as 'out of line'."

Mrs. Weasley was caught in an emotional battle. She was furious that this practice was legal, much less widely accepted. Battling the first emotion was sadness. Sadness was the only word that could describe her feelings toward the state of living the two children had been doing up until this point.

The last emotion in the war was complete and utter shock. How could she now have known of this practice? Not that she ever, _ever_, planned on participating, but why was it allowed? Why was it okay for adults to abuse their children? And Sirius had been through it too? Just how common was this? Why had he never said anything?

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine and she's fine. There's nothing you could do now anyway, seeing as he's dead. Just let it go okay?" Draco said in a manner that left no room for argument.

Mrs. Weasley nodded her head and her face took on a withdrawn expression. Sirius gave her a firm clap on the shoulder, before doing the same to Draco. He walked swiftly from the room, and Mrs. Weasley soon followed after him.

And, after much internal debate, Draco and Cosette followed the two adults down to the kitchen again. The kitchen, Draco realized, was basically the meeting place for everything. While the table in there wasn't as big as the one in the dinning room, it had a much cozier feel to it, courtesy of Mrs. Weasley.

Looking at the clock, Draco saw that it was only an hour until lunch. Since he was tired of feeling helpless and so taken care of, he offered to help with preparing lunch.

Mrs. Weasley, of course, insisted that she was all right, but thanked him for the offer. Instead, Draco took seat at the table next to Sirius, who was reading a letter that had just been delivered.

"It's from Dumbledore," Sirius said to no one in particular. "He says he won't be able to visit us until the end of the week. He sends his regards and hopes you are in good health Draco."

Molly Weasley scoffed at the phrase 'good health'. In her mind, those two were anything but healthy.

"Hey Draco," Cosette squeaked, "Who's Bumbledore?"

Draco couldn't help but laugh at that. "His names Dumbledore. He's the headmaster at my school."

"Is he one of daddy's friends?"

"Not exactly…"

"Good," she said and went back to her coloring.

_When did she start coloring anyway? _Draco thought. His sister was a strange one for sure. One minute she was simply sitting at the table and the next she was coloring god knows what. It could have been a flower, but it also looked like a cat… and a bicycle.

Everyone continued to go about their business. Draco was reading a book that Sirius had handed him. It was some fantasy book about dragons and such, not that Draco would know that since his mind was elsewhere. He wondered when Dumbledore would show up, and what he would do in regards to him and his sister.

Along the same lines, he wondered where the rest of the order members went. There were far fewer of them today than there had been one night ago, and at the Malfoy manor for that matter.

In the back of his mind, he wondered when and if Snape would show up. His sister had always considered Snape a safety zone. Whenever Snape was there, he somehow managed to make sure that no harm befell his sister. And for that, Draco would forever be grateful.

. 0Oo.

Before anyone knew it, it was time for supper. Instead of having lunch that morning, the other house-members simply drifted in and out of the house for an occasional snack before heading back to work.

Most of them didn't give Draco a glance, instead preferring to ignore his presence. Most of them did the same for his sister, with the exception of the twins, who gave her high-fives in passing.

Draco couldn't deny that his sister loved the twins. They were so different from all the other people who had previously been in her life. They were so carefree and fun that she couldn't help but be drawn to them.

When everyone entered for dinner, they chose new seats, seeing as Draco and his sister had switched spots. Ginny sat next to Draco, who sat next to Sirius still. On the other side of the table was his sister, a twin flanked on each side of her. She was still coloring on the same drawing, except now she had enlisted the twins to help with it as well.

It really was an adorable sight, and Hermione couldn't keep the giggle to herself when she entered the room and sat between Ron and Harry.

The conversation at the table shifted to an adventurous story of the twins fighting a boggart in the parlor on the corner of the first floor. Though Draco kept to himself most of the time, he put in a few comments about how ridiculous their story was.

After dinner was finished, no one moved to get up. They all continued to tell stories that ranged from strange dreams of the previous night, to quidditch and books and the twins newest prank.

It was very different than anything Draco and Cosette had ever experienced before. At the manor, dinner was a formal affair that was very somber in mood. The only thing that was ever shared was plans on how to ruin some else's life.

But here, here it was so joyful. Everyone was egging for a chance to speak or tell some joke that probably wasn't even that funny.

Of course the dinner the night before had been strange, and while still joyous, this one was more natural. Draco contributed that, though, to the fact that their previous enemy hadn't just walked into the kitchen of their secret headquarters with a younger sister no one knew existed.

While Draco was lost in his thoughts, his sister managed to crawl under the table and end up on his lap, asleep. Her head was snuggled into the crook of his arm and he idly played with a piece of her hair while she slept.

Draco was only pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Ginny speaking to him.

"You're really good with her you know? You are practically inseparable after all."

Draco thanked her, not knowing what else to really say. She had been very nice to him since he came, and he was beginning to regret all the terrible things he had called her, and all the Weasleys for that matter.

The group talked for the rest of the evening, until the sun was far below the horizon. Draco was the first to get up from the table.

"Well, I best take her up to bed. Goodnight. Thank you for dinner Mrs. Weasley," he said stiffly.

He was very glad that he could use his sister as an escape route. It's not that anyone was being in any way unkind to him, but after so long in such an emotionally cold environment, he could only take so much emotionality.

The walk up to his room was quite, seeing as everyone else was still downstairs. Draco attempted to lay his sister down on the bed, but, just like the first night, she had an iron grip in his cloak and refused to relinquish it.

After almost 10 minutes of gentle struggling, he settles for slipping out of his cloak altogether.

Finally freed of his sister, he grabbed more clothes from the armoire and headed to the bathroom to shower.

Looking at his now exposed chest in the mirror, he saw that the bruises were much better than they had been the day before, though that wasn't saying much. The Mark was beginning to burn again, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. He never noticed it when he showered since the water was hot on his skin anyway.

After he finished his shower, a fully clothed Draco walked back into his room to see his sister still asleep on his bed, the only exception being that now she was sprawled out in the center of it, making it virtually impossible for anyone else to fit.

Running his hand through his hair still-wet hair with a sigh, he walked over to the bed so that he could move his sister.

At some point during the process, she latched herself onto him again and showed no signs of letting go.

_Some things never change,_ Draco thought. As he resigned himself to his fate, he lay on the bed and looked at the ceiling.

He heard feet on the stairway in the background. After a while all noise from the other rooms was gone, replaced only by the rather loud snoring of one of its occupants.

The burning in Draco's arm was increasing still. It had gone up ten-fold since he went to take a shower.

He had no idea how long he lay there, sister clutched to him, staring at the ceiling. He was growing bored and was very tired, but every time he tried to fall asleep, the burning came back with a fury.

After what felt like hours, a swift knock was heard at the door. Draco would have gotten up to get it, but his sister was still as firmly attached to him as Mrs. Black's portrait was to the wall.

The quiet knock sounded again. Draco had whispered to come in, but whoever was on the other side of the door obviously hadn't heard. The door quietly slid open, and Mrs. Weasley entered the room.

She frowned upon seeing that Draco was still awake. She quietly approached the bed. While Draco was still awake, his sister was out like a light.

"I wanted to see if you were still awake. I figured _it_ would be bothering you by now," Mrs. Weasley said in a whisper. Though it took Draco a moment to figure it out, he realized that by _it_, she meant the Dark Mark.

He was slightly amazed by the fact that the woman always seemed to know what others needed and when, but then it occurred to him that she was a mother, and one of many children at that.

Draco nodded his head in reply to her statement. His arm truly did hurt now. It was more than it had been before, and now that attention was turned to its condition, the pain seemed to intensify.

Mrs. Weasley motioned for him to sit up, but when he tried he was reminded of the fact that his sister was still attached to him. After several minutes of prying, he was finally able to pry himself from his sister's vice-like grip.

Molly couldn't hold in a small chuckle at the sight of Draco's struggle. It certainly answered her question as to why he hadn't answered the door even though he was awake.

Once he was sitting up and facing Mrs. Weasley, she pulled out the jar and set it on the bed. She held out her hand expectantly, with a look on her face that said that she was not about to take no for an answer.

Reluctantly, Draco placed his arm in her hand as gently as possible. The burning was quickly becoming unbearable, and he knew that that meant that the Dark Lord was summoning the death eaters to a meeting that was no doubt about yesterdays attack.

Why these meetings always had to be in the evenings or late at night was beyond him. All he really cared about was getting the rapidly increasing burning to stop.

As Mrs. Weasley pulled up the sleeve to his sleep shirt, Draco couldn't hold in the cringed and hiss of pain that accompanied the action.

"Sorry dear, I'll be as gentle as possible," Mrs. Weasley said in that mothering tone she tended to use.

Draco simply nodded his head and replied, "It's fine."

Molly made some indignant noise that meant she thought otherwise, but said nothing else. The skin around and of the Mark was hot, and when Molly put the first dab of cream on it, a slight sizzle could be heard. This was no doubt, painful for Draco, but he only gave the occasional whimper through the whole process.

When she looked him in the face though, that was when her heart really broke. A few silent tears had made their way unwittingly down his face. Draco had proven himself to be strong, and the sight of him in tears, even so few, was heartbreaking.

Mrs. Weasley sat down on the bed next to him and pulled him towards her and into her arms. His crying increased, but was still eerily silent. She held him while he cried, and reassure him though his mumbles of, "I never wanted this." And "Why does it hurt so much? Why me?".

His sobbing ebbed and flowed, but eventually he quieted fell asleep.

Relieved that he was no longer in pain, Molly slowly slid out from under the now-sleeping Draco and laid him back on the bed. She slipped out of the room and walked back to the one she shared with Arthur.

_He hides it very well,_ she thought, _but he really is broken over this. He's been through so much. While I can't deny that the poor girl had as well, it was much worse for Draco, the poor dear._

Mrs. Weasley slipped into bed and curled around her husband, hoping to sleep away the troubles eating at her heart.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**Authors Notes: **Thank you guys for being so patient with me! And I didn't have a lot of time to edit this chapter, since I wanted to get it up fast for you, so it may be a bit quirky.

I want to thank all of you for all the support you have given this story, and me as a writer. I am working on the next chapter currently. I promise I really am trying to stick to the once a week schedule, but I have been pretty pressed for time as of late Not the point. Anyway, enjoy this chapter!

And for those of you who actually bother to read my notes, and I still love you if you don't, I will give you a little hint for the next chapter. One word: Snape.

Haha now you are curious! Or not… anyway, on with the story!

**Chapter 10**

Cosette was sleeping soundly when the bed sheet was suddenly pulled from on top if her.

The cold rushed at her in its absence, so she reached over to grab it back. Once she had pulled the sheet and blanket up again, barely getting a chance to revel in the warmth, it was snatched away again harshly.

She groaned, still half asleep.

"Draco…" she groaned. When her half-awake mind didn't catch a response, she opened one eye and saw her brother thrashing on the bed next to her.

The sheet was wrapped ten different ways around him, and he struggled against it. She heard him whimper through the darkness of the night.

He'd had nightmares before, so all she had to do was shake him and get him to wake up, and then he would calm down and give back the blankets.

And so she did just that.

Except… this time Draco didn't wake up. When she shook his shoulder like she normally did, he flinched away violently and went about his nightmare.

It wasn't right; Draco always woke up when she shook him.

And so, she tried again. Shaking his shoulder again only succeeded in intensifying his thrashing.

It got to the point that she couldn't get close to him anymore, for fear of being hit by a flying limb.

"Draco," she said in a normal voice, hoping that the fact that it was louder than a whisper would wake him up. Draco was normally a very light sleeper, and woke at the tiniest whisper or the creak of the floorboards.

Her whisper did nothing. He didn't flinch, he didn't stop thrashing, and he showed no signs of waking up.

Draco's thrashing began to become more violent as the sheet that was wrapped around him grew tighter and tighter.

"Draco!" Cosette yelled. Nothing. No hint of recognition. So she did the only thing left- she screamed.

It was ten times louder than anything anyone who saw the child would have been thinking she was capable of.

Nothing happened. She would have expected someone else to hear her, but the room was cast with a silencing charm to give them privacy. It was so no one would hear their discussions with Sirius and Molly, but also so no one could hear them cry.

It was nice to not be able to be heard. Most of the time that is.

Realizing that no one would be coming, she knew that she had to do something,

She crawled out of bed and made her way across the creaky oak floor toward the door. She cast one last look at her writhing brother before she left the room.

She knew she had to find help quick, but she didn't know who or where. She crept down the hall toward the room that she knew Sirius was in.

She had followed him up earlier when he went upstairs after breakfast, and she remembered the way there.

She pushed the door open, and walked slowly toward the sleeping figure of her "uncle".

She tried in vain to climb up the side of the ridiculously tall bed only to end up falling on the floor.

The thud she made when falling awoke Sirius, and he spun around to face his attacker, wand in hand.

All those years in Azkaban had made him, for all intents and purposes, "Trigger-happy".

When he saw Cosette's tear-stained face, he immediately lowered his wand and scooped her into his arms.

He sat back on the bed and put her on his lap while she clutched his robe and buried her face into his chest.

"Calm down," he hushed, but she only cried harder. "It's alright, tell me-"

"You gotta come!" She yelled while still sobbing. "Please, come one! You gotta help him!"

This put Sirius's senses on high alert. Someone was in trouble. His mind immediately flew to the thought of death eaters trying to take away his niece and nephew.

He was brought back to reality in time to catch the last part of Cosette's explanation.

"-and he wouldn't wake up! I yelled and shook him but…" she trailed of, her tears coming back with a vengeance.

"Calm down okay? We'll go help Draco all right?" she nodded her head, and Sirius stood up, simultaneously balancing her on his hip.

Sirius walked to Draco room in as much haste as he could allow himself. He wanted to get there quickly, but if he moved too fast, his sister would think that something terrible would happen.

He stopped outside the door to the two's room. Not a sound could be heard from the outside of the room.

Sirius mentally cursed himself for leaving the silencing charm on the room. He had forgotten to take it off when they left that afternoon, and now he was paying the price.

Or rather, Draco was paying it for him.

He pushed the door open and was shocked by the state Draco was in. He was thrashing and writhing on the bed, all manor of sheets wrapped around him like a cocoon, which only made him struggle harder.

His head sharply turned from side to side, and as Sirius approached he could hear the boy muttering, 'please, no more,' and 'no,' and ten other variations of the two.

Sirius set Cosette on the floor a few feet away from the bed, and told her not to move from the spot.

Obediently, she sat down and watched as Sirius drew closer to the bed. Now he understood what had caused Cosette to move to the point of tears.

Draco didn't acknowledge his presence as he drew closer and closer.

Sirius sat on the edge of the bed and leaned in to shake his stricken nephew. As he reached out to shake him, he was almost caught with a flailing left arm that had somehow managed to work it's way out of the tangled mess that were the sheets.

Swiftly avoiding the arm, he grabbed it and pinned in above Draco's head.

"Draco, Draco wake up!"

Draco made no response. Sirius used his free hand to start untangling the sheets. Maybe once he got out of the sheets he would struggle less. But such was not the case.

The thrashing and muttering continued, until Draco let out the most blood curdling scream Sirius had ever heard. And he'd spent enough years in Azkaban to give a decent amount of credit to the statement.

"Draco!" Sirius shouted again. He began to shake the boy's shoulders repeatedly. When he was just about the give up hope, Draco's eyes shot open and he bolted upright.

Sweat dripped from his face, and he was breathing so deeply that he would have believed he just sprinted five miles.

Draco was now sobbing and he curled up into a ball, shaking so badly that he almost rolled onto his side.

Sirius scooted farther into the bed and wrapped his arms around the boy's shoulders.

He expected Draco to protest when he pulled him into his lap, but it seemed like he didn't have the mental or physical strength to even breathe properly at this point, so protesting was out of the question.

Draco clutched onto the front of Sirius's night robe, and rested his forehead on his chest.

His breathing only got faster and faster, and Sirius knew that if he didn't get the young Malfoy to calm down soon, he would pass out from lack of oxygen.

"Draco," Sirius said softly. Draco made no move at all, but Sirius knew that he had heard.

"Draco, you need to calm down okay?"

"Can't _**gasp**_ breathe _**gasp**_ help!" Draco panicked. He was getting more and more light-headed, and the room was beginning to sway a bit. No matter how fast he breathed, he just couldn't get enough air for his liking.

"It's going to be okay, but you need to calm down. If you don't slow down, you are going to pass out," Sirius said in a matter of fact tone.

Draco shook his head, but Sirius didn't relent.

"I want you to breathe in time with me okay? Can you hear me breathing?" he asked as he pushed Draco's face deeper into his chest. To his relief, Draco nodded his assent.

"Good, now I want you to breathe in time with me okay?"

Again, Draco nodded, and his breathing slowly became more even. It was quite a while before his breathing was completely normal, and Draco was calm enough to look him in the face.

Draco looked so terrified that it frightened Sirius to his very core. He hugged Draco fiercely, and the whimpers started to subside as well.

Sirius held Draco for quite a while before he asked the question that had been plaguing his mind.

"Can you tell me what happened?" he said softly, the sincerity in his voice surprising even himself.

At the question, Draco gave another involuntary shake, but Sirius ignored it.

"He… he…" Draco stumbled, "he hurt me. It hurt so much. And then… then it was the box. He put me in the box, and it got smaller and smaller and-" Draco broke off. He was in tears again, and he didn't care in the slightest how childish his explanation had sounded or how hard he was crying now.

Sirius rested his chin on top of Draco's head and rocked them both, with murmurs that it would be okay.

Oh how Draco really wished he could believe that.

It probably took an hour, but Draco fell asleep once more, looking much more peaceful this time.

Sirius struggled the child off of himself and laid him back down in the bed, pulling the now wrinkly sheets up to his chin.

He turned around, intending to leave, when he saw Cosette sprawled out on the wooden floor and fast asleep.

_Damn,_ he chastised himself,_ I forgot about her. Kid probably caught a cold or something now. Molly'll have my hide._

He went down and scooped the child into his arms and turned toward to bed. He covered the distance in two strides, and gently set her down next to Draco.

With the covers once more pulled up the their chins, he left the room.

Once he was outside the door, he removed the silencing charm. He wanted to make sure that he would be able to hear them next time something like this happened.

And it was bound to.

Sirius knew that nightmares like these weren't a one time deal. He'd had enough of them himself to know that no matter what the dream is, the worst part is knowing that you are dreaming and not being able to wake up.

He made a mental note to talk to Molly in to morning about it, since she would still be asleep at this hour.

In the back of his mind, he also noted that he should probably talk to Snape as well. If anyone would know what the boy had gone through, it would have been Snape.

When Sirius reached his room, he slipped back into his bed and pulled up his covers with the knowledge that he would find no more sleep this night.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

**Authors notes:** 2.2k. I didn't do too bad with the length on this one! But sorry I took two extra days. I have just been super busy. Thanks for all of the understanding guys!

**Help me, do you guys want a happy ending or a sad ending?! I had originally planned this whole tragic ending, but then people were asking about the ending and it was all happy so give me a little help here guys!**

I am going to be posting a fanfic for the way life was forever as well, (oneshot), whenever decides to heed my request to add the category. I will not abandon this story.

And after I finish this fanfic, I have another few queued up to write, but **how interested would you guys be if I did a remake of this without the OC?** It would have a similar plotline, but Cosette would not exist. It would also still be all fluffy Draco H/C because I'm the kind of person that likes to torture my characters haha.

If I have any takers on that, it would probably be a while before it came out.

**Chapter 10**

Sirius made no mention of the previous night's incidents during breakfast. Actually, he hardly said a word. Draco was afraid to even think about why that was. His mind would come up with the worst possible reason why, as it always did, and he simply didn't want to have to deal with that right now.

"Draco, dear, are you listening?" Molly asked, pulling him out of his revere. Draco immediately blushed, seeing as he hadn't even known that she had been talking in the first place.

"Sorry. Could you repeat that, please?" he asked sheepishly, while fighting the urge to rub the back of his head in a similar fashion to what actors always seem to do in movies.

"Of course, dear, but do pay attention next time. I said, 'Professor Snape should be in today.' I don't know whether or not he knows you are here, and not lost on some street or kidnapped by a lunatic, but I think that either way he will be glad to see you!"

"He's coming today?" Draco half yelled. Any attempt he had made to hide his excitement failed. Miserably.

"Yes, yes dear," Mrs. Weasley said, waving her hand in a dismissive manner, going back to her household chores. It wasn't that she was oblivious to Draco's excitement; it was actually quite contrary.

She knew that Draco, proud as he was, didn't want to admit his attachment or need of anyone else. After all he had been through, she decided he deserved to have that small bit of privacy.

. 0Oo.

It was during dinner that evening that the _oh so beloved_ potions master came into the kitchen.

Draco, Molly, and Sirius were the only participants at the dinner table that knew he was scheduled to arrive. So, needless to say, it was a shock to the rest of the group when he flooed out of the fireplace.

Ron had dropped his fork. His mouth was hanging wide open, making the observers glad he had already swallowed his food.

Harry glared at the professor, but said nothing.

Hermione, being as courteous as she was, greeted him formally, though anyone could tell that she was less than excited about his presence in the house.

Snape expected those reactions, right down to the poorly concealed smile of Draco Malfoy's face. The only unexpected reaction was that of the twins.

Severus Snape was more than a little surprised when his appearance caused the twins to grab Cosette. Fred pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms safely around her, while George held her hand and glared at Snape in a protective manner.

They obviously had no idea that he was the child's godfather, but he decided against pointing that out. The less they knew about him, the better

Mrs. Weasley watched the entire scene unfold from her station at the stove. She had known that the twins had taken a liking to the youngest Malfoy child, but hadn't expected them to be so blatant about it! It was, however, and adorable sight none the less.

She halfway expected Draco to jump out of his chair and hug Snape for all he was worth, but she reminded herself of his upbringing, and realized that such an actions would never have been tolerated in his home.

It saddened her heart to know that the boy still couldn't feel free enough to express himself here. But then again, a few days of good could not undo 15 years of a very controlled upbringing.

Once Severus had taken a seat at the table next to Draco, she began to set out the food. Steak and kidney pie was passed around as everyone served himself or herself, and pumpkin juice followed suit. Next came the rolls and mashed sweet potatoes, along with a few other dishes that were foreign, but good.

All of the meals in the burrow were homecooked, and Draco could certainly tell. Having been raised on the food of house elves, even at Hogwarts, it was refreshing to have something made with so much love as opposed to so much loyalty and servitude.

Dinner was a quite affair, and as soon as everyone was finished, they were dismissed to their rooms for the night. Of course, none of them would be going to sleep for a while.

Draco returned to his room after he begrudgingly left his sister in the care of the twins. After the display at dinner, he was more than confident that they would keep her safe.

And, as much as he loved his sister, he did value his solitude. It was a chance for him to curl up with a book, or sort out his head without constant interruption.

Meanwhile, downstairs, the adults were launching into the meeting.

. 0Oo.

The order members seated themselves around the long kitchen table. Among the normal news and updates, they had one important thing to talk about: Draco and Cosette.

They hurriedly went through the new information Severus had gathered, a few invasion plans, and a miscellaneous thing or two.

Then they got to the topic that they had really wanted to talk about, the one that was the real reason for the meeting.

"I think they should be with you, Severus. I mean, you are their godfather after all," Arthur started.

"That is exactly _why_ they shouldn't stay with me," Snape said, the ever-present sneer echoing through his voice.

At Arthur's confused look, Snape clearly outlined the situation and the obvious reasons for his words,

"That is exactly where they would look for them, you fool," Snape said, trying to keep the contempt out of his voice. Sometimes, he really thought that the man, along with several other members, had nothing in those heads of theirs.

"They could always stay here then. At the burrow, I mean. It is safe enough to do the job, and they are downright sweet," Molly suggested.

The fact that she called them 'sweet' made him wonder how much Molly really learned about them over the past few days.

'_Probably too much,'_ he thought.

There was a moment of silence where no one said anything. He was actually astonished that no opinions had been voiced against the pair staying at the burrow.

'_It appears that they grew on everyone, isn't that simply_ splendid,_ ' _Snape's thoughts droned.

The silence continued on tensely. Finally, Severus decided to speak up, successfully startling everyone.

Being the first to break the silence would have been the reason given by any observers, but for someone who knew the man, it was downright shocking because of what came out of his mouth.

"I think they should stay," he started, saying it like it was the simplest and most obvious answer in the world.

"Because," he continued, "Sirius, you are their last blood relative. Or at least, last one that is sane to _some_ degree."

They all cringed at the thought of Bellatrix taking care of the children. She would probably have used them for firewood or potions ingredients for all they knew.

It was at that moment that what Severus had said finally hit Sirius.

"Wait, WHAT?" he yelled.

Thank goodness there were silencing charms coating the room in thick layers, or Arthur was sure that the neighbors down the street would have heard.

"You heard me, imbecile," Snape sneered, his mouth ending in a smirk.

Completely ignoring the fact that Severus had called him an imbecile, Sirius continued his rant.

"I have no idea how to take care of children! And by myself! Do you have any idea how many problems they already have? Cosette spent most of last night in tears, while Draco was busy screaming his bloody head off in bouts of nightmares! They need help, and it's not me!"

The order members all assumed looks that ranged from shocked to horrified. Sirius hadn't the vaguest of idea why, until he thought about what he had said.

'_The nightmares,'_ he thought. He hadn't remembered to tell them what had transpired the past night, and they obviously hadn't heard through the silencing spells.

"Why didn't you say anything Sirius! The poor dears!" Molly was to the point of tears just thinking about what they went through.

"Did Draco say anything about it? His nightmare?" Arthur asked, concerned.

"Well…" Sirius drifted off.

He didn't really think he had a right to say what it was about. The fact that Draco had nightmares was perfectly acceptable. Given the circumstances, it was almost expected that there would be a few wounds that would need more than medicine to heal.

The eyes of everyone at the table were boring into him. But he couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to betray the small grain of trust, which Draco had only so recently bestowed upon him.

"The story is not mine to tell. If you truly wish to know, you best ask him yourselves."

Sirius ignored the heated glare that came from Molly Weasley's general direction. His will was just as strong as hers, and he would wait her out for eternity for all he cared.

"Now," Severus started up again. It was time to get this meeting back in order, and that was what he intended to do.

"It is settled. Sirius, you are looking after them."

Sirius opened his mouth to interrupt, but Snape kept talking. The animagus shut his mouth, knowing he would have been fighting a losing battle.

"As I was saying, Sirius will look after them. You won't, however, be alone in the task. Molly!" he said sharply. "Since you are so insistent on taking them under your wing, you are helping Sirius. They will be staying at the burrow anyways," Severus said in a voice that students and colleagues alike knew meant, 'if you argue with me I will make your life so miserable you will wish I killed you at the start.'

Molly simply nodded. She wouldn't have objected to helping look after the two siblings anyhow. They really were sweet.

She expected them to be more demeaning, rude, and, for lack of a better word, Malfoy-ish. But, it was the exact opposite.

Draco was polite and courteous, never speaking out against any of the people in the house. He cared for his sister with love that reached his cold, gray eyes, turning them from stone to a smoldering ash.

Cosette was no different than Draco. She was polite, sweet, and very well-behaved. In fact, she was more behaved than many of the Weasley children!

She was also very good at entertaining herself, and never complained.

The Malfoys had gone through a major culture shock and, in Molly's opinion, and probably everyone else's, they were doing incredibly well. They fit in like they had been there from the start, and not raised on riches and power.

After the two had been that sweet and wonderful, there was no way that she could turn them away. It was her mothering instinct that caused her to take care of any child that she deemed astray. She knew instantly that she would take in Draco and Cosette just like she had taken in Harry all of those years ago.

. 0Oo.

The Dark Lord sat at the head of a long cherry wood table. It wasn't their normal meeting place, but the Malfoy manor was not safe enough to hide them at the moment.

That was the reason that he had gathered all his followers in the dining parlor of the Lestrange house.

"Now, I'm sure you are wondering why I called you all here," he started, his ominous voice killing any life that had been in the room.

"After last week's… attack… a few details have arisen that are quiet concerning."

He absent-mindedly stroked the top of Nagini's head.

"We lost many loyal, including our dear Lucius," he continued.

Narcissa cringed the sound of the Dark Lord violating her late husband's name.

"It appears that several of our own were taken to the ministry, and later to Azkaban. It was brought to my attention, however, that our two precious Malfoy children were unaccounted for. Would you care to explain, Narcissa?" His voice had grown darker and darker with every word he uttered.

Upon hearing the Dark Lord's suspicions, Narcissa's heart dropped to her stomach. She knew that she had no idea where her children were, but they didn't, and she could only hope that they believed her.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's notes:** I am confirming that I am alive! Sorry that it took so long for this update to come out. The last few weeks my like has been nonstop last-minute plans combined school activities and work. I really will try to be better about updating, but I can't make any promises.

I's also like to thank all of you who have shown me support throughout this story through you reviews, follows, and favorites. I don't know what I'd do without you guys.

I'd also like to point out that in this chapter Draco thinks about Ginny, but he thinks of her as a friend and this will not be a love story or have any romance between them. Ginny just sees Draco as someone who really needs a friend and confidante.

For the part about blood bonds, I can't remember if that is true or not, so I am basing it off of what I read in _Digging for bones,_ by **paganaidd.** It really is a great story if you are interested in hurt/abused Harry rescued by Snape fanfics.

And as always, standard disclaimers apply.

**Chapter 12**

Narcissa stood slowly from her place at the table. Turning, she looked the Dark Lord in the eye- something not many people dared to do.

"I do not know where my children are," she started hatefully, "Because if I did, they would be here with me right now and not kidnapped and held who knows where."

Well, that wasn't exactly true. She hoped that her children were in a better place; and if they were, she wasn't going to be the one to bring them back to the pit of hell know as the dark side.

They wouldn't have even been followers if she had gotten her way. But as much as she loved Lucius, he wouldn't budge on the subject.

At least Cosette was still so young. At least she hadn't been forced to take the dark mark like Draco had.

Thinking about it made Narcissa's heart ache for her son. He had never wanted any of this to begin with.

_No,_ she thought, _brooding will do me no good now. It's already too late. At least maybe now they have a chance to be free from all of this._

Her eyes focused again, and she saw that entire table of death eaters staring at her. She had, after all, just done the equivalent of telling the Dark Lord to mind his own business.

Quickly, she retook her seat.

He who must not be named chose to ignore the whole scene. He would have time to deal with her later. After all, her precious Lucius wasn't here to protect her anymore, and he could punish her as he dually chose. And she would be begging at his feet by the time he was done showing her around the third circle of hell.

. 0Oo.

Draco was awoken early the next morning to someone shaking him.

"Draco. Draco wake up!"

It was too early for this. Way too early in his opinion.

Blearily, Draco cracked an eye open and looked right into his sister's bright ones.

_Does she really have to sit so close?_ Draco thought to himself. His sister was close enough to his face that it was all that he could see and he could feel her warm breath on his nose.

"Auntie Molly said I could wake you up now," she said in a cheery yet matter of fact tone.

What on earth had possessed Mrs. Weasley to want to wake him up so early?

"Cosette it's too early for this. Come back in a while, okay?" Draco whined.

"But it's almost lunch! You can't sleep forever!"

Draco's mind lurched. _Lunch? How is it lunch already?_ _How could he sleep so late? Malfoy's never sleep in,_ his mind echoed. He had to remind himself, however, that father wasn't here anymore to make him behave like he used to. No, he was free now. He didn't have to always be the perfect, emotionless Malfoy Heir.

Groaning, Draco rolled out of bed and onto the floor, pulling his sister with him. He landed with his back to the floor, knocking the wind out of him, with his sister squiring and giggling in his arms.

With his sister still bundled in his arms, he stood and walked over to the armoire. Opening it, he reached to pull out a white dress shirt when a small hand whacked his arm.

"What was that for?" He asked in a playful tone, while looking at his sister's goofy grin.

"Not that one!" she giggled, "That one is boring!"

"Boring, huh?" She was quite the little ball of energy this morning, he noticed. "And which one do you think that I should wear?"

"That one," she said, pointing to a purple shirt. Draco wasn't quite sure how to respond to that one. He wondered how everyone would react to his purple button down. And on top of that, he couldn't help but wonder why Sirius owned a purple dress shirt.

_No,_ Draco thought, _I don't want to know._ His mind didn't agree with him, however. Images of a Sirius wearing the purple shirt flitted through his mind. Well, that was one way to wake a person up.

Draco looked down into his sister's face again, and knew that he wasn't getting out of wearing the purple shirt.

"If I wear it, I get to pick the rest of my outfit. Deal?" he asked.

"Okay!"

Well that was one problem solved. At least he didn't have to find out what array of pant colors the man owned. He shuddered at the thought_._

Draco pulled to shirt out of the armoire, followed by a set of black pants. He closed the door and walked across the dusty floor back to the bed. The teen tossed his sister onto the bed, which made her erupt in another fit of giggles.

Chuckling to himself, the Slytherin Prince pulled off his nightshirt and flannel pants and replaced them with the purple shirt and black pant_s. _ He pulled on the socks that had been in his shoes, and followed them with the shiny shoes.

After he was fully clothed, he walked over to the mirror on the far side of the room. He turned from side to side and inspected himself. His outfit was on the atrocious side, but one could only do so much with a purple shirt.

Blond hair lay messily flat to his head. Walking to the bathroom, he grabbed Cosette's brush from the counter and tried to brush it smooth. The hair flattened more to his head, but still had the occasionally tuff that was out of place.

He looked really different without his hair gelled back. The image in the mirror was more relaxed, and looked less pained.

His hair would have to stay like it was, even if he didn't like it. He had no hair gel here, and he certainly wasn't about to ask for some from one of the girls. Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair, messing it up again.

At the motion her remembered how Ginny had done the same thing yesterday, saying that she liked his hair when it wasn't gelled. That it looked nice like that.

Draco smiled when he thought of her. She had treated him like a friend, and Draco hadn't really had a friend before. Sure he had Crabbe and Goyle, but they were more of bodyguards. And Pansy and Blaise were more like distant relatives that were forced to like him.

Deciding he didn't want to think about his old "friends" anymore, he walked out of the bathroom and towards the stairs, his sister following like a shadow the entire journey to the kitchen.

When he walked in, most of the Order member and their children were seated at the table, waiting for Mrs. Weasley to finish lunch. No one commented on his choice of shirt color, though the twins were hiding giggles behind their hands.

"Oh! Good morning, dearie," Mrs. Weasley said in a sweet voice. "You were out like a light this morning when I went to wake you up. Thought I'd let you sleep a little longer. But I can't have you sleeping like the dead through lunch now could I? You need some more meat on those bones of yours, and skipping meals isn't going to do you any favors."

Draco smiled at her and nodded. It was nice to have someone care for his wellbeing. Not that his mother didn't care, she just couldn't express her care aloud around Lucius. And since he was always there, she never really had a chance to tell her son anything caring.

Shaking thoughts of his mother from his mind, he walked one of the open seats at the table. It was next to Ron.

_Just kill me now,_ Draco thought. He knew that Ron didn't like him in the slightest still. Not that he could blame him of course. He had said and done so many things to Ron that it was surprising that tolerated him at all.

When Draco sat down, he heard Ron mumble a _'Mornin._

"Morning," Draco said, shocking Ron. He hadn't thought that the pale boy had heard him. And even if he had, he hadn't expected more than a grunt if he got an answer at all.

Ron smiled up at Draco. A good morning didn't make all of Draco's past actions disappear, but it gave Ron the hope that maybe he was a different person, and just maybe they could move past their old relationship.

"Did you hear about how Falmouth Flacons did last night?" the redhead asked.

Draco negatively shook his head while taking a bite of the food that had been placed in front of him.

"Okay, so…" and with that, Ron launched into retailing the entire game just as he had read about it in the paper, Draco putting in his own comments every so often.

The rest of the table had stopped eating, shocked at the interaction between the two. They had hated and avoided one another just yesterday, and here they were talking about quidditch like old pals.

The two boys were oblivious to all the stares, and eventually the rest of the table went back to eating.

When the meal was finished, Mrs. Weasley clapped her hands and handed out the chores for the day. The twins 'awwwed' when they were charged with getting the rest of the pixies out of the library.

"Draco, Cosette, I'd like you to stay for a minute, and then you can go help the others."

Again? Draco could swear they needed to talk to him every day after breakfast.

The rest of the table members got up and exited the room, heading toward their day's daunting tasks.

As she walked out of the room, Ginny ruffled Draco's hair and teased him saying, "Someone looks like they got attacked by their pillow."

Draco allowed himself a chuckle and Fred, who had been holding Cosette while they ate breakfast, handed her to Draco. Giving the other teen a smile, Draco accepted his sister, before looking back at the two adults still occupying the room.

Over the night Severus had disappeared, much to Draco's disappointment.

"Draco, we'd like to talk to the two of you about your… er… living arrangements," Molly started hesitantly.

_Oh no, _Draco thought, _they are going to kick us out. Where will we go? There is nowhere and no one that would want to harbor the children of a well-established death eater._

Seeing Draco tense with worry, and his eyes widen, Mrs. Weasley rushed to reassure the boy who was still a child in her eyes.

"No, no, dearie," she hurried, "We aren't kicking you out! We simply wanted to talk to you about a change in guardianship."

A sigh passed through Draco. He didn't know what he would have done had they kicked the two of them out.

At the same time, curiosity made its way into his thoughts. What were they meaning about guardianship?

"As you know," Sirius began, "Guardianship can be passed on to another member of the family very discretely. That way, the whole of the wizarding world needn't find out. So, last night at the meeting, we decided that it would be best if we had you transferred to my guardianship. Though Snape is your godfather, he would be the obvious place to look for you two. No one would think that you two would be entrusted to your accused murderer of a second cousin." He added the last line with a chuckle.

"What do you think?" Molly asked.

To be honest Draco didn't know what to think. The only thing that popped into his mind, he regretfull_y _said out loud as well.

"Why would you want me? Us?" Draco asked softly, genuine confusion in his voice.

Before he had a chance to say more, Molly wrapped her arms around him and began to mother.

"Don't you ever say that," she said hotly. "Don't you ever think that you aren't wanted- that you aren't good enough."

It was a really moving scene for Draco. Cosette, being four, didn't understand the meaning of the words, but Draco did.

"Yes," he said quietly, hugging her back.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

**Authors Notes: **Hey Everyone! Sorry that this is so short! I know that it is only 800 words, but I needed a little bit to put to connect the ending. **Yes. I repeat. This is the last chapter before the ending. I will post 2 endings, the happy and the sad, either tonight or tomorrow night, though I am aiming for tonight.**

I'm really sad to see this story go, but I wanted to keep it short and sweet instead of dragging it out. Don't worry, the rewrite of this without Cosette will come out soon. It is on the list behind a few other stories though.

The next one I am posting is a star trek one, that will also be very short and sweet. It will be in the hurt/comfort category, and be about the crew finding an abandoned ship with a stranded child inside. Don't ask why this one has a stranded child to, because I honestly don't even know. I actually wrote that one before I wrote fixing broken paths, but the other one needed a lot more work. And after that, I literally have a notebook full of ideas, so stay tuned!

**Chapter 13**

The rest of the day continued on like normal, Draco doing his best to keep all of the excitement on the inside. He was more pleased, than anything else, to feel wanted for the first time in such a long time.

At dinnertime, most of the Order was sitting at the table, with the exception of Mad-Eye and Dumbledore. The entire affair had been passing quietly when Mad-Eye burst into the room in a frenzy.

"Up! Up you fools! They are coming! The death eaters are on their way!" he shouted, waving his arms in a shooing motion.

"What! That isn't possible! They couldn't have known the location! I most certainly didn't tell them!" Snape argued with wrath finding it's way through his voice.

"Whether it's possible or not doesn't matter now lad! You all best run if you want to live!"

All of the occupants of the room stood so quickly from their chairs that more than half of them fell over, and the table rattled as if it were subject to an earthquake.

As their feet stomped up the stairs, most was making a mental list of what they wanted to grab that was most important to them, while the rest Order members donned their battle gear.

In no more than three minutes, the entirety of the house was gathered in the foyer and ready to depart. Well, the entirety excluding the youngest Malfoy. Hermione was the first to notice this fact.

"Wait! Where's Cosette?" she yelled in a panic. Everyone in the room did a double-take, and frantically looked around themselves.

"We need to find her! Everyone, take the rooms you cleaned earlier and look there. You have five minutes. Go!" yelled Molly, taking command of the situation.

Cosette was nowhere to be found. They looked through every room, nook, and cranny, but it was to no avail.

"Wait! Why don't we just cast a tracking spell?" Asked Fred. Everyone in the room mentally smacked themselves in the head for not thinking of that sooner. Once the spell was cast, they almost wished that they had never thought of it. George's wand pointed to the one place they hoped she hadn't gone: out the back door.

. 0Oo.

Narcissa pushed herself onto her elbows, before grabbing the end of the bedpost and standing from the floor. Her entire body hurt more than she remembered it having hurt in the longest while.

The house was eerily quiet. All of the deatheaters had left and were on their way to where they thought the Order's headquarters was.

Narcissa had known for the longest time that Severus was a double agent. She knew that he wasn't on Voldemort's side. But she kept her mouth closed, and now she was truly grateful for that.

It was almost certain, in her mind, that both or her children were with the Order. Severus would have taken them somewhere safe, and she knew that the Order wasn't capable of sending two children to Azkaban. It simply wasn't in their nature.

The deatheaters, though, were a problem. If her children were with the Order, they would most surely be found during the attack. If any of the other deatheaters found them, those two were as good as dead.

Knowing this, Narcissa found the strength to make it across the room and to her wardrobe. Pulling out her thickest battle-robe, she put it on and made her way out of her bedroom door and to the stairs. She only made it halfway down, even with her slow pace, before needing to stop for a breather. Who knew a Crucio could take so much out of a person?

Tired or not, she was a mother hell-bent on saving her two children. With that she found the strength to make it down to the Manor's main foyer and into the fireplace, to travel by floo.

Of course, she had overheard where the Order was, and she had to admit she had never thought it would be in her dear cousin Sirius's house. That didn't matter though. It only meant that she would have an easier time getting there and knowing her way around the house.

Throwing the powder into the fireplace, she yelled, "House of Black," and was gone in an instant. Where she ended up; however, was certainly not the House of Black.

TBC

Next: Happy Ending


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